Jos Buttler will lead the England cricket team’s title defence at the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 to be hosted in the West Indies and USA in June.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced the 15-member England squad on Tuesday. It also stated that the selected players currently playing in the Indian Premier League will have to return in time for a four-match T20 series against Pakistan, which starts on May 22.
This means Buttler, who has been opening the batting for Rajasthan Royals, will miss the IPL playoffs, which begins on May 21.
Rajasthan Royals, whose last league match is on May 19 against the Kolkata Knight Riders, are currently leading the IPL 2024 standings after nine matches and are in pole position to seal their spot in the playoffs.
Buttler has been a key player for the Royals in IPL 2024. The Englishman has scored 319 runs in eight matches at an average of 53.16 and a strike rate of 150.47. He has scored two centuries this season.
The 33-year-old Buttler was England’s leading run-scorer in their title-winning T20 World Cup 2022 campaign in Australia. He scored 225 runs at an average of 45.00 and a strike rate of 144.23. He managed two fifties during the tournament
The England T20 World Cup 2024 squad will head to the Caribbean on May 31. The team’s opening match is against Scotland at the Kensington Oval, Barbados, on June 4.
England are in Group B at the T20 World Cup alongside Australia, Namibia, Scotland and Oman.
England cricket team: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood
