Rajasthan Royals finally managed to arrest the slide, and in a way overcame the loss of their star batter Jos Buttler (back on England duty), with a four-wicket win against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL Eliminator in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, but the swashbuckling opener reckoned that no international games should be scheduled at the same time as the IPL.
Speaking to Sky Sports after England’s first T20I against Pakistan was abandoned due to rain, Buttler said, “It’s a unique buildup, that’s why we felt it was good to get the players together in this series. In my personal opinion, there should never be any international cricket that clashes with IPL.”
Buttler was one of the integral parts of the Royals franchise, who coincidentally on the same day sealed the second qualifier spot against Sunrisers Hyderabad to decide the second finalist of this IPL season. The second qualifier will be played on Friday and the winner of the match will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders in the May 26 final in Chennai.
The England skipper was then quick to turn the focus on the home series in the buildup to the T20 World Cup.
“But my first priority at the moment is being England captain at the moment and try to prepare as best as we can for a world tournament,” he said.
Both England and Pakistan will square off in three more T20Is stretching to May 30, a day before the T20 World Cup kicks off. The two teams do not have any warm-up games in the marque tournament in the Caribbean and the USA.
Expressing his dejection over the first T20I in Leeds getting called off, Buttler said, “It’s really frustrating. We’ve had a really good couple of days of preparation and everyone was really excited for the series. Just putting the England kit back on and playing in England is amazing, so it’s really disappointing. But still, three matches, so lots to look forward to.”
The second T20I is scheduled for May 25 in Edgbaston.