England wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler has said that the ECB had never given him an option of skipping the IPL and be available for the Test series against New Zealand. The right-handed batsman is now in India for the limited-overs fixtures and will stay in the country till the end of Rajasthan Royals IPL campaign.
"No nothing of that sort (was discussed with me) and I don't know about other players. I think an agreement about participation in IPL was in place well before the New Zealand Test series was announced," Buttler said during a media conference.
Buttler further admitted that the IPL gives you “monetary rewards” and it is an advantageous tournament to a lot of people in terms of money.
"We all know the benefits of IPL. It's a huge tournament and monetary rewards are obvious and also the experience you gain and it has its pluses too. And it's obvious in the upturn of white ball games in England, and the number of players participating in it and how beneficial it is to all of us," he said.
"IPL is advantageous to a lot of people with the money that's involved. It's the biggest tournament in cricket in terms of money and careers can be short but we know that playing for England can be a huge draw and we are very well remunerated playing for England," he added.
The gloveman suggested that it was an achievement for the England team that 12 players were in demand for the tournament like the IPL. "It is also a big feather in the cap for the England side that 12 players were in demand in the world's biggest tournament," he said.
The IPL 2021 is set to begin from April 9 with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on three-time finalists RCB in Chennai in the opening clash.