Jos Buttler, who is upset that franchise owners are not getting England players for the knockout stages, has asked schedulers to make sure that international cricket and the Indian Premier League never collide.
Buttler was one of eight members of England's 15-man team that went home from the Indian Premier League last weekend to get ready for their country's defence of the global championship in the T20 World Cup next month.
They play Pakistan in a four-match T20 series, but the first game was abandoned at Headingley on Wednesday 30 minutes before the toss due to nonstop rain that continued all day.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India and the IPL owners, who mistakenly thought they would have their English players till the end of the competition, are said to have been enraged by the England players' withdrawal.
The former captain of England, Eoin Morgan, expressed his opinion that their continued participation in the competition would have been advantageous. Buttler (Rajasthan Royals), Phil Salt (Kolkata Knight Riders), Will Jacks and Reece Topley (Royal Challengers Bangalore), and Buttler (Kolkata Knight Riders) have all missed elimination matches in Ahmedabad to go home.
Buttler, whose spouse is soon to give birth to their third child, stated that although he had always intended to go back home, the England management had decided to bring the others back. The choice was made when the tentative team was announced earlier this month. It must be finalised by Saturday and it is unlikely that any changes will be made.
“It’s really frustrating, we’ve had a good couple of days’ prep,” Buttler told Sky following the washout in Leeds. “Putting the England kit back on and playing cricket in England is amazing. It’s really disappointing not to be playing but there are three matches to look forward to. It’s a unique build-up [for a World Cup]. That’s why we felt it was good to get the players all together in this series here. My personal opinion is there should never be international cricket that clashes with the IPL. But my first priority is being England captain and trying to prepare for a world tournament so I said to Keysy [Rob Key] I would definitely be coming back and he’s made the call on the rest of the players.”
Although it has become rare for England games, particularly white-ball contests, to coincide with the IPL, this year's fixture congestion brought on by the World Cup in the US and the Caribbean made it all but unavoidable.
England permitted players to skip a two-Test series against New Zealand in 2021 so they could participate in the Indian Premier League, but this time they felt they had to send the players home to be ready for the Caribbean after their disastrous 50-over World Cup defence in India the previous year.
It looks like Jofra Archer's eagerly anticipated comeback to international cricket will happen this Saturday at Edgbaston. After Cardiff and The Oval, the teams will go to the Caribbean for the T20 World Cup and some more pleasant weather.