IPL 2024: 'England is my No. 1 Priority' - Jos Buttler After Pulling Out Of IPL Early For Pakistan Series

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Jos Buttler has said England is his number one priority as the country's white-ball captain backed England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decision to pull out players from the ongoing IPL 2024 early.

The defending T20 men's champions England will prepare for their title defence at the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 with a 4-match series against Pakistan, starting from Wednesday (May 22).

To have all their T20 World Cup squad members available for the series, ECB had announced that the country's players participating the IPL 2024 will leave the tournament early to feature in their World Cup preparations.

As a result, the likes of Buttler, Sam Curran, Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, Will Jacks, Reece Topley and Moeen Ali, who play for different teams in the Indian Premier League, left for England last week, which was crucial for several teams in IPL 2024.

While Curran, Livingstone and Bairstow's team Punjab Kings were out of contention form progressing to the knockouts, Ali's Chennai Super Kings, Buttler's Rajasthan Royals, Jacks and Topley's Royal Challengers Bengaluru all needed to win to stay alive in the tournament.

Salt's Kolkata Knight Riders, however, had already booked the top spot before the wicketkeeper-batter left the camp. While the English players have faced flak for leaving early, Buttler has said international cricket and IPL should not be clashing.

"I said, 'Look, as an England captain, my main priority is to be playing for England'. It's my personal opinion that there shouldn't be any international cricket that clashes with the IPL," Buttler told reporters ahead of the series opener against Pakistan.

"I think that these games have been in the calendar for a long time. Of course, leading into a World Cup, your No. 1 priority is playing for England and performing for England. I feel like this is the best preparation."

The English players faced criticism from experts and fans for their exit before the playoff week, while there was also backing for them from their compatriot and former skipper.

Legendary Sunil Gavaskar and all-rounder Irfan Pathan were critical of the England players for leaving the IPL early this season, while Michael Vaughan stepped in and defended his countrymen.

Gavaskar had demanded a penalty on the players, while Pathan asked them to either be available for a full season or not come at all. Vaughan, however, said that the country comes first and the England players were not wrong in leaving early.

England take on Pakistan in the first of the four-match series on Wednesday (May 22) at the Headingley in Leeds before the action shifts to Birmingham on Saturday (May 25) for the second match.