England’s wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler has opened up whether he will take part in the rest of the games of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 when the league will resume in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in September-October.
“Usually the IPL doesn’t clash with any international cricket. When it does clash, probably England will take precedence,” Jos Buttler was quoted as saying by the BBC.
The experienced England player has said that he will leave it to England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) director of cricket Ashley Giles to take a call between IPL and England’s international fixture as well.
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“[Will play] Where Ashley Giles says,” he replied. However, Giles had earlier shared that national commitments will take precedence over the cash-rich league. “I’m not aware of anything official, any requests to shift anything. As far as we’re concerned and what we’re prepared for, the matches will be where they are,” Giles was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. “I’m not surprised there’s all sorts of speculation. Everyone wants to get their cricket in. But we’ve not received anything official and we’re cracking on.”
“We have a full schedule. If we go from the end of the fifth Test in September, we are set to leave for Bangladesh on September 19 or 20. We have a full schedule right through including Pakistan and wherever the T20 World Cup is,” Giles further added.
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Notably, Buttler has last played against India in the first Test in Chennai, which England won before returning to England as ECB has decided to rotate players. He has also played in the IPL but skipped the first two Tests against New Zealand. And, England has lost four Tests out of the five in his absence and one ended up in a draw as well.
“I want to play as much as I can. You always want to be available for everything,” Jos Buttler added. “I don’t think there are any perfect answers. We play a lot of cricket and it’s important for everyone to be looked after.”
