The English cricketer, Jos Buttler acknowledged that the huge financial windfall that comes with an IPL contract can’t be ignored and also said that the ECB never gave him the option of leaving the 14th edition of the cash-rich league to be available for the Test series against New Zealand. Buttler was the talk of the town as he went home after the first Test against India. He is now back in the country for three months to compete in the white ball series and will stay till the end of the Rajasthan Royals’ IPL campaign.
The British media grilled Buttler on players in all likelihood skipping the Test series against New Zealand starting June 2 if their franchises get to the play-offs scheduled to be commencing in the last week of May.
Talking about the same during a virtual press conference, Jos Buttler said, “I think an agreement about the participation in IPL was in place well before the New Zealand Test series was announced. It could potentially (mean)…but NZ tests have been added later on and there will always be a few who would be missing out on England games. You don’t know how far the players are going to go far in the tournament and miss games (for England).”
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The white ball dasher didn’t hide that money is a big issue when it comes to taking a decision between club and country.
Talking about the money, Buttler said, “We all know the benefits of IPL. It’s a huge tournament and monetary rewards are obvious and also the experience you gain and it has its pluses too. And it’s obvious in the upturn of the white ball game in England, and a number of players participating in it and how beneficial it is to all of us. Of course, the schedule is tough and there is no perfect balance to it, and ECB and players are working closely trying to manage that.”
There are 12 England players, some with million-dollar contracts, playing in the IPL. The players include Buttler himself, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer for Rajasthan Royals, Moeen Ali and Sam Curran for CSK, Tom Curran for DC, and Dawid Malan for Punjab Kings.
Jos Buttler also understands that the English cricket establishment is a divided house when it comes to IPL with people forming their “own opinions one way or the other”.
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Elaborating the same, Buttler said, “It also a big feather in the cap for England side that 12 players were in demand in world’s biggest tournament. Obvious benefits of the player improvement, skills that you get to learn, especially this year playing IPL in India, where world T20 will be played.”
