Jos Buttler was given a Test recall by the selectors on Tuesday as England announced its 12-man squad for the upcoming Test series with Pakistan.
However, while a first Test call-up since December 2016 will be cherished by Buttler, the news could not have come at a worse time for his IPL outfit Rajasthan Royals. Ajinkya Rahane’s men are currently involved in a cut-throat five-way race for two playoff spots.
The Royals will face Royal Challengers Bangalore at home in its final league match. With a victory against Bangalore being the minimum requirement for Rajasthan to qualify for the playoffs, they will dearly feel the absence of their in-form batsman.
So @josbuttler gets picked for England and while that might be good news for him, not sure how @rajasthanroyals see it given the test players have to report home by May 17th!
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 15, 2018
With the first Test between England and Pakistan getting underway on May 24 at Lord’s, the England Test squad members are supposed to report for duty by May 17. This means that Buttler will miss the side’s clash against RCB on May 19 as well as the playoffs in case Rajasthan progress.
The Englishman has carried the playoff hopes for the franchise with five consecutive half-centuries since being moved to the top of the batting order.
The rest of Rajasthan’s batting-order has been off colour with Ben Stokes being woefully out of form with the bat.
