Rajasthan Royals (RR) have suffered a big blow ahead of the second phase of IPL 2021 as their star player Jos Buttler has pulled out of the competition.
Taking to Twitter, RR on Saturday (August 21) confirmed the news, citing that the England wicketkeeper-batsman will be with his pregnant wife and won’t be available for the second half of IPL 14.
“Jos Buttler will not be part of the remainder of #IPL2021, as he and Louise are expecting a second child soon. We wish them well, and can't wait for the newest member of the #RoyalsFamily,” Royals tweeted.
In another tweet, the inaugural IPL champions announced New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips as Buttler’s replacement. Phillips is yet to play in the IPL but he boasts a healthy T20I strike rate of 149.41 with one hundred and two fifties from 25 matches.
Buttler was in fine form in the first phase of IPL 2021, scoring 254 runs from seven games at a strike rate of 153.01 with one century.
The UAE-leg of IPL will kick-start on September 19 and RR will start their campaign against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on September 21 in Dubai. They are occupying fifth place on the points table with three wins from seven outings.
