Gujarat Titans’ Director of Cricket Vikram Solanki has opened up on the impact of Jos Buttler’s upcoming departure for national duty before the IPL 2025 playoffs. However, Buttler is all set to join the England squad for the upcoming ODI and T20I series against the West Indies, scheduled from May 29 to June 10 as well.

Speaking after GT’s 83-run defeat to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, May 25, Solanki said, “He’s not available for the playoffs. So, we will approach the game as a team. It’s not about one individual or three individuals, as you keep reminding me – they’ve had good seasons.”

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“I’m glad the top order has been scoring most of the runs. That’s a good thing. Yes, it means the middle order has sometimes not had the opportunity to bat. But when they have played, I think they’ve actually given a good account of themselves,” he further added.

In Jos Buttler’s absence, the Gujarat Titans have brought in Sri Lankan batter Kusal Mendis as a replacement as well. However, Solanki also applauded Shahrukh Khan and Sherfane Rutherford for playing handy knocks throughout the tournament. Shahrukh smashed 57 runs against Lucknow Super Giants on May 22, although GT lost by 33 runs as well.

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“Shahrukh Khan played beautifully in the last game. Sherfane Rutherford has shown glimpses throughout the tournament, where he’s been able to accelerate when we’ve needed him to. So, it’s a bit of a double-edged sword, isn’t it? When your top order is scoring runs, the middle order doesn’t get much opportunity. But when they do get a chance, you can’t suddenly expect them to deliver match-winning innings every time,” Solanki concluded.