The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be missing the services of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler in their last league game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). They were included in the England Test squad for the series against Pakistan and were asked to report to the camp by May 17 by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
The Royals lost their game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Tuesday which has now demeaned their chances of getting qualified for the IPL 2018 playoffs, especially after the exit of Stokes and Butler. However, Stokes posted a heartwarming message for his teammates and fans while hoping that his team wins the coveted title.
Stokes was bagged by the Royals for a whopping amount of ₹12.5 Crores following his bunch of match-winning performances in IPL 2017 for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) franchise. But he failed to make a mark in accordance with his price tag this year and struggled for the most part of the season. While he averaged only 16 with his willow, his contribution with the ball has been decent in the last couple of matches.
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Ben’s Instagram post read: “Had a great time with @rajasthanroyals what a bunch of amazing people this franchise has, individually very disappointing but gave everything I had to give just wasn’t meant to be, hope we can get across the line tonight and make it through to the playoffs, would love to see these boys lifting the trophy at the end of the season as all the hard work put in by everyone deserves it #hallabol #RR”.
Butler was bagged by the Royals for a whopping amount of ₹4.4 Crores following his bunch of match-winning performances in IPL 2017 for Mumbai Indians (RPS) franchise. Despite failing to make a mark this year in the start of the tournament, he came back with 5 consecutive 50+ scores for RR and out of which his team got past the finish line in 3 games.
Jos’s Instagram post read: massive thank you to everyone involved in the very special @rajasthanroyals set up! What an amazing few weeks in India with some fantastic memories made on and off the pitch. Such a great changing room to be a part of and incredible family feel the franchise have developed. Have loved my time with everyone and I will be watching on Saturday as we make it through to the playoffs!! #hallabol”.
Royals will now lock horns with RCB in their last league match which is a must-win for them as they will also hope for the other results to go their way in order to qualify for the playoffs. Moreover, they will have to find apt replacements for both Buttler and Stokes and it will be hard for the team to perform up to the mark in the absence of their key players.
Here are the detailed videos of the same:
