Jos Buttler Prioritizes England Duty Over IPL 2024 For Upcoming Pakistan Series

Jos Buttler has affirmed that England remains his top priority as the country's white-ball captain supports the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decision to withdraw players from the ongoing IPL 2024 early.

The defending T20 men's champions, England, are gearing up for their title defence at the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 with a four-match series against Pakistan, starting on Wednesday, May 22.

To ensure all T20 World Cup squad members are available for the series, the ECB announced that English players participating in IPL 2024 would leave the tournament early to join their World Cup preparations.

Consequently, players like Buttler, Sam Curran, Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, Will Jacks, Reece Topley, and Moeen Ali left for England last week. This departure was significant for several IPL 2024 teams.

While Curran, Livingstone, and Bairstow's team Punjab Kings were already out of contention for the knockouts, Ali's Chennai Super Kings, Buttler's Rajasthan Royals, Jacks and Topley's Royal Challengers Bengaluru all needed to win to stay in the tournament.

Salt's Kolkata Knight Riders had already secured the top spot before he left. Despite facing criticism for leaving early, Buttler emphasized that international cricket and IPL should not clash.

Buttler's Perspective

"As an England captain, my main priority is to be playing for England," Buttler told reporters ahead of the series opener against Pakistan. "It's my personal opinion that there shouldn't be any international cricket that clashes with the IPL."

"These games have been in the calendar for a long time. Leading into a World Cup, your No. 1 priority is playing for England and performing for England. I feel like this is the best preparation," he added.

Mixed Reactions

The English players faced criticism from experts and fans for their early exit before the playoff week. Legendary Sunil Gavaskar and all-rounder Irfan Pathan were critical of the decision.

Gavaskar demanded a penalty on the players, while Pathan suggested they should either be available for a full season or not come at all. However, former skipper Michael Vaughan defended his countrymen, stating that national duty comes first.

Upcoming Matches

England will face Pakistan in the first of the four-match series on Wednesday, May 22 at Headingley in Leeds. The action will then move to Birmingham on Saturday, May 25 for the second match.