IPL 2024: Jos Buttler, Will Jacks, Reece Topley leave India for national duty
Other England cricketers playing in the IPL are expected to leave India in the next couple of days.
England captain and Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler has left India to prepare for the four-match series against Pakistan, which will begin on May 22 at Leeds. The main agenda is for the player to spend time with the national team ahead of the T20 World Cup, which will begin soon after the conclusion of the IPL. Along with him, Royal Challengers Bengaluru players - Will Jacks and Reece Topley have left the country after bidding goodbye to their teammates.
Notably, the Royals posted a video on their X handle announcing the departure of Buttler. In the video, the 33-year-old was spotted asking the team to video call him with the trophy on 26th May, as Rajasthan are one of the favourites to win the trophy. They are currently second on the points table and another win will secure their place in the top two. They haven’t won since the inaugural edition in 2008 and looked desperate to get over the line this time around but not having Buttler in the mix, is a huge blow for the Sanju Samson-led side.
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Even though the Englishman hasn’t had the type of season that he usually has his presence is massive in the RR camp. He is one of the leaders in the locker room and not having him at the business end of the tournament can also derail their successful campaign so far.
Meanwhile, RCB Director of Cricket Mo Bobat broke the news about Jacks and Topley. The franchise released a video to confirm the development and it too is a massive setback for RCB as they need a win in their final league game against Chennai Super Kings to stay in the race to make it to the playoffs. Jacks has been a key part of their project in the tournament and not having him in the middle is not a good thing for the franchise.
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Other England players too are expected to leave India soon. KKR batter Phil Salt, CSK all-rounder Moeen Ali, and PBKS duo Sam Curran and Jonny Bairstow are next in line.
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