English players have been on the receiving end of playing in the Indian Premier League this year. ECB recently allowed players to miss the test series against New Zealand in June if their IPL franchises make it to the knockout rounds. Jos Butler has defended the decision from English players to feature in IPL.
The criticism for English players has come on the back of 3-1 defeat against India in the test series. The rotation policy implemented by ECB has not gone down well after the series defeat and there have been calls for prioritising test series over T-20 games and IPL this year. Buttler is confident that playing in IPL will also help the English team.
“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 number of players participating in it and how beneficial it is to all of us.”
For the first time in IPL’s history, English players will be available for the entire tournament along with a provision of missing out on the first test against New Zealand in June, if their teams manage to get into the playoffs. There are currently a dozen English players that will play in the biggest T-20 tournament. Players such as Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, Dawid Malan, are set to be key players for their franchises.
Buttler even mentioned the complexities of the covid-19 procedures to be followed, which requires the players to undergo strict isolation for almost half a month by staying in a bio-bubble environment, making it a challenge for everyone. The English players are also going to benefit from playing in India since the T-20 World Cup will take place in subcontinent conditions later this year.
The explosive wicketkeeper-batsman is back with the squad for the upcoming T-20 and ODI series against India. Buttler had returned to England after playing in the first test against India at the start of February. He is set to be available for complete white-ball series that includes five T-20 and three ODI games in March.