Rajasthan Royals will miss their opener Jos Buttler for the rest of the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. England's T20 captain has left the Royals' camp with two matches still left in the league stage to be available for his national side for the four-match T20I series against Pakistan starting from May 22. RR posted the video of Buttler leaving the camp and captioned it as, 'We’ll miss you, Jos bhai!"
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had already cleared during their T20 World Cup squad announcement that the players selected will have to return from the cash-rich league to be available for the Pakistan series just before the mega event. In fact, the managing director of England's Men's cricket team, Rob Key revealed that it was Buttler's plan to unite the team before the T20 World Cup and play together in a few matches.
Buttler leaving is a huge blow for the Royals who have lost their last three matches. They are still at the second spot with eight wins in 12 matches but are yet to confirm their place in the playoffs. Buttler scored 359 runs in 11 innings this season at a strike rate of 140.78 and an average of 39.88 with two centuries to his name. Tom Kohler-Cadmore is now likely to replace him at the top of the order.
Kolkata Knight Riders will also miss Phil Salt for the playoffs who is also expected to leave in the coming days. He has been exceptional too for KKR opening the innings as he amassed 435 runs at a strike rate of 182 in just 12 matches. Moeen Ali of Chennai Super Kings will also be unavailable for the playoffs while his participation in the crucial RCB clash on May 18 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Liam Livingstone of Punjab Kings has also reached England to rest his knee even as his team has already been knocked out of the playoffs race while the other players who will be leaving IPL 2024 early are Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Phil Salt and Reece Topley.
