England players have started leaving the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 midway and many of them have already reached the UK. It was already confirmed that the English players will skip the IPL 2204 playoffs and they have started to depart at the start of the last week of the league stage.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) have released a video of Buttler leaving the team hotel while Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have also confirmed that Will Jacks and Reece Topley won't be part of their last league stage game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Punjab Kings (PBKS) all-rounder Liam Livingstone has also left India.
The rest of England's players will reach the UK by the end of the week. Since the 2024 T20 World Cup is scheduled to start on June 2, the fans would be confused as to why the England players are leaving early. Here, we have a look at the reason
England will play a preparatory series against Pakistan before the T20 World Cup and all players who are in the WC team will be part of that series. Hence, the England Cricket Board (ECB) decided to recall their players from the IPL.
The four T20Is are scheduled to be played on May 22, 25, 28 and 30. Many countries allow their players to skip international cricket for IPL but ECB doesn't allow its players to miss the games.
The England players always leave the IPL early and aren't available for the playoffs due to the start of their home season, which mostly kicks off with Test cricket. This year, the situation is different and England have recalled their T20I players.
Apart from the aforementioned players, Sam Curran, Phil Salt, Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali will soon leave IPL. Curran is leading Punjab Kings in Shikhar Dhawan's absence. It remains to be seen who leads the team in their absence.
Rajasthan Royals, KKR most affected
Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders are most affected by England players' exit. Even though Buttler has blown hot and cold this season, he is a big-match player and could have made a big difference. RR are at the second spot but haven't qualified for the playoffs. They need to win the rest of their two matches to finish in the top two.
KKR are confirmed to finish in the top two. They have been badly hit by Salt's absence. He has piled up 435 runs and is their second-highest run-scorer. Sunil Narine will have a new opening partner in KKR's next game and in the all-important first qualifier on May 21.