England skipper for the upcoming T20 World Cup Jos Buttler and allrounder Sam Curran have both put their weight behind England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) decision of pulling its players out of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 for national duty. (IPL Full Coverage | More Cricket News)
Three teams in IPL 2024 playoffs had important English players who left for national duty just before the league stage ended. Will Jacks for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Jos Buttler for Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Phil Salt for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were key players that had to leave IPL before the knockout rounds.
Buttler, who opens the batting for RR, defended the move and said playing for England was the best way to prepare for the T20 World Cup.
"I said, 'Look, as an England captain, my main priority is to be playing for England,'" Buttler told reporters on Tuesday.
"It's my personal opinion that there shouldn't be any international cricket that clashes with the IPL. I think that these games have been in the calendar for a long time. Of course, leading into a World Cup, your No. 1 priority is playing for England and performing for England. I feel like this is the best preparation," he said.
The player of the tournament for the last edition of the T20 World Cup, Sam Curran, echoed the same sentiment.
"It was a decision that was made, that it was probably the right thing for us all to come back," Curran told ESPNCricinfo.
"It was only fair for all franchise to lose a player each or so… it would have been quite harsh if some franchises got to keep a couple of players and then some didn't," the all-rounder, who led Punjab Kings to a ninth-placed finish in the absence of regular skipper Shikhar Dhawan who was injured early in the season.
To prepare for the T20 World Cup, England are hosting Pakistan for a four-match T20I series starting from May 22.
Defending champions England are in Group B alongside arch-rivals Australia, Namibia, Scotland and Oman.
The Jos Buttler-led side opens its campaign against Scotland on June 4.
The ICC Men's T20 World Cup begins June 1, with for the first time in history, 20 teams vying for the prestigious trophy. The tournament takes place in the West Indies and the United States of America.
