IPL 2021: Jos Buttler expecting birth of second child soon, set to miss UAE leg

England and Rajasthan Royals batter Jos Buttler is set to miss the second half of the Indian Premier League 2021, which will be played in the United Arab Emirates from September 19. Buttler, who is currently a part of the England team playing India in the home Test series of five matches, is expecting his second child during the same time when IPL 2021’s second leg would be played in the emirates. New Zealand batter Glenn Phillips will replace him.

Taking to Twitter, Buttler’s IPL team Rajasthan Royals provided the update and wished him well. “Jos Buttler will not be part of the remainder of #IPL2021, as he and Louise are expecting a second child soon. We wish them well, and can’t wait for the newest member of the #RoyalsFamily,” read RR’s tweet from August 21 (Saturday).

Buttler enjoyed his time in the first half of the league, where he amassed 254 runs at 36.28 and a staggering strike rate of 153.01, which included a 64-ball 124-run blitz against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. In his overall 65-match IPL career, Buttler has amassed 1968 runs with a strike rate of 150. At the time of season suspension, the Royals were placed at the fifth position with six points in seven fixtures.

Buttler’s exit, meanwhile, will further tone down the Royals, who already do not have the services of two other England players – Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes. While Archer did not feature even once in the 2021 edition owing to his elbow injury and has now been ruled out until the Ashes this year, Stokes broke his finger early in the tournament, before being ruled out.

IPL 2021 to resume on September 19 in UAE

The 14th league edition was postponed in a unanimous decision taken by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the IPL Governing Council on May 4, after a spate of Covid-19 cases inside the bio-bubbles of four different teams across two cities. The league is set to resume in the UAE, where the 31 unfinished games will be played across three venues.

As per the new schedule, the Dubai International Stadium will host 13 of the remaining 31 games including the first qualifier and the final, while Sharjah will have 10 fixtures including the Eliminator and the second qualifier. The remaining fixtures will be played in Abu Dhabi. The league phase of the tournament is supposed to run until October 8, with the first qualifier scheduled on October 10. The Eliminator, second qualifier and the final will be played on October 11, 13 and 15, respectively.

Jos Buttler will not be part of the remainder of #IPL2021, as he and Louise are expecting a second child soon.

We wish them well, and can't wait for the newest member of the #RoyalsFamily. 💗 pic.twitter.com/rHfeQTmvvg

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) August 21, 2021