England stars including Buttler leave IPL franchises ahead of T20 series against Pakistan

England players Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone, Will Jacks and Reece Topley have left their respective Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises to join the national senior's side for the T20 series against Pakistan starting from May 22 onwards.

For preparations to defend their ICC T20 World Cup title in the West Indies and USA this year, England will be playing Pakistan in a four-match T20 series from May 22 onwards, with matches set to happen in Leeds, Birmingham, Cardiff and London. 

Buttler, a crucial player for Rajasthan Royals (RR) which is highly likely to qualify for the playoffs, has left the Men in Pink."We'll miss you, Jos bhai!," tweeted the official X handle of the franchise.

In 11 innings in this IPL 2024, Buttler has scored 359 runs at an average of 39.88 and a strike rate of 140.78. He has scored two centuries this season, with the best score of 107*. RCB also bid farewell to two of its English stars, all-rounder Will Jacks and pacer Reece Topley. "Jacksy and Toppers are heading back home for international duties and we wish them all the very best. You were incredible in the camp and on the field this IPL. See you soon, lads. #PlayBold RCB #IPL2024," tweeted RCB.

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In eight matches for RCB, Jacks scored 230 runs at an average of 32.85 and a strike rate of over 175, with a century and fifty. His best score is 100*. He also took two wickets for his side. In four matches for RCB, Topley took four wickets, with the best figures of 2/27. 

Livingstone of Punjab Kings (PBKS) had announced his departure for the England series two days back on Instagram. "IPL done for another year, had to get my knee sorted for the upcoming World Cup. Thanks once again to the @punjabkingsipl fans for all their love and support. Disappointing season as a team and personally, but as always I loved every minute of playing in the @iplt20," he said. 

In seven matches for Punjab, Liam scored 111 runs at an average of 22.20 and a strike rate of 142.30, with best score of 38* and also took three wickets. It is unclear when Phil Salt (Kolkata Knight Riders), Moeen Ali (Chennai Super Kings), Sam Curran and Jonny Bairstow (Punjab Kings) will leave. England announced their squad for the T20 World Cup in April. 

The same squad will be travelling for the four-match T20I series against Pakistan, which will commence on May 22. All the players who are currently part of the Indian Premier League will return before the playoffs in time for the T20I series against Babar Azam's men.All teams are allowed to make changes to their squad until May 25, after which any alteration will require approval from ICC's Event Technical Committee.

England squad: 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.