Jos Buttler, the Paarl Royals opener, on Sunday announced his decision to withdraw from the upcoming South African T20 tournament due to his commitments with the England cricket team. In a post on the franchise’s social media handle, Buttler wrote an emotional message and thanked the fans for their resilient support. He also hinted at one day resuming his campaign in the tournament.

England is braced for a white-ball tour of India, and Buttler will take his multi-format team there for a five-match T20I and a three-match ODI series to run alongside the SA20 match-ups. January 22 – February 12, 2025. Buttler speaks of his commitment to the national cause, this year with the Champions Trophy heading England’s way, as the main factor in his thinking.

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“This is a message to the Paarl Royals fans. I am just disappointed that I am not going to be returning to the SA20 this year. There are a few England games happening, and my main focus will be there. Shame I will not be coming back for the tournament. I have a lot of love for the tournament, huge amounts for the Paarl Royals, and especially the Paarl Royals fans. “I wish you all the best in the competition and, hopefully, I can come back in the future,” said Jos Buttler in the video.

Thank you for everything, Jos the Boss. We’ll miss the scoops, we’ll miss you! 💗 pic.twitter.com/OTYR4cfWw2

— Paarl Royals (@paarlroyals) August 6, 2024

Just like mentioned, Jos Buttler had a stupendous 2023 season where he ended with 408 runs from 11 matches and thus being the fourth highest run-scorer in the tournament. His performances proved to be very vital in ensuring that the Royals managed to qualify for the Eliminator in which, unfortunately, they were eventually beaten by Joburg Super Kings by nine wickets.

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The Royals, after Buttler withdrew, moved to sign India cricketer Dinesh Karthik as his potential replacement. Dinesh Karthik had announced his retirement from the IPL at the end of the 2024 season and later decided to prolong his career in South Africa.

But that’s further complemented by the fact that the Royals have retained skipper David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Bjorn Fortuin, Andile Phehlukwayo, Mitchell van Buuren, Codi Yusuf, Keith Dudgeon, Nqaba Peter, Kwena Maphaka, Lhuan-dre Pretorius and a traded-in Dayyaan Galiem.