'Someone needs to be accountable' - Adam Gilchrist slams RR management for releasing Jos Buttler after IPL 2025 exit

Rajasthan Royals (RR) suffered a humiliating 100-run defeat against Mumbai Indians (MI) in Jaipur on May 1 to be knocked out of the IPL 2025 playoffs race. The defeat not only ended RR’s campaign but also triggered questions over their pre-season decisions, especially the release of Jos Buttler. Former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist slammed the franchise’s management for the exit of star English batter.

The Royals, who retained six players ahead of the 2025 season, made headlines by letting go of big players like Buttler, Trent Boult, and Yuzvendra Chahal. The decision hampered them largely. With skipper Sanju Samson injured for most of the season and the young Indian core underperforming, RR were struggling to win games. In 11 matches, they have so far managed only three victories. Gilchrist in his criticism mentioned that someone needs to be accountable for the decision. 

"We heard Mike Hussey admit that they (CSK) got it wrong at the auction, and they are out. Someone needs to be accountable for what happened with the decision on Jos Buttler. RR have got it wrong, and they find themselves eliminated as well. So, there has got to be some accountability. I would have thought certainly, internally, they have got to be asking questions. That was a monumental mistake," Gilchrist said on Cricbuzz.

Buttler, meanwhile, has excelled at his new franchise, Gujarat Titans, after being acquired for INR 15.75 crore at the mega auction. Though he’s batting at No. 3 instead of his usual opening slot, the English batter has scored 406 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 168.46. Notably, in the game against RR, Buttler smashed a match-winning fifty.

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RR’s retention strategy left them with only INR 41 crore to rebuild their squad, after spending INR 79 crore on six players: Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, and Sandeep Sharma. The all-Indian batting core failed to deliver under pressure, especially in Samson’s absence, while the middle order of Jurel and Hetmyer, retained at a combined INR 25 crore, failed to finish games off. Meanwhile, Samson had earlier admitted that letting Buttler go was personally difficult.

"Letting him go has been one of the most challenging decisions for me. During the England series, I told him over dinner that I was still not over it. If I could change one thing in the IPL, I would change the rule of releasing players every three years," RR captain Samson told Jio Hotstar.