Kevin Pietersen unhappy with Stokes, Buttler missing out on IPL Playoffs

English cricketer Kevin Pietersen is absolutely appalled to see two of the most prolific English cricketers miss out on the IPL playoffs this year. Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler are all set to leave India and join the English team for the national duty. This, in essence, means that they will not be playing in the playoffs of the coveted T20 league this year. Ben Stokes has been an integral part of the Rising Pune Supergiant.

Jos Buttler, on the other hand, has been a top performer for the Mumbai Indians this season as well. Stokes played a key role in helping Rising Pune Supergiant reach the playoffs for the first time in the tournament history. His efforts with the bat, ball, and in the field were superlative. Now that he has helped the team reach the knock out stages, it only comes as a sad news to see the all-rounder leaving the RPS camp.

Jos Buttler, in pretty much similar capacity, had been a top performer for the Mumbai Indians with brisk starts along with Parthiv Patel this season. The MI camp have found a backup in Lendl Simmons and hence might not miss his services as much. On the contrary, RPS is bound to feel the heat with selection conundrums over the replacement of Ben Stokes.

Champions Trophy preparations

Both players have to join the English squad for the preparations for the ICC Champions Trophy commencing on June 1. Prior to the ICC mega event, they are expected to play a 3-match ODI series against South Africa which starts on May 24. Well, in all fairness, they could have managed to have the best of both worlds since IPL finals are scheduled to be played on May 21.

Amidst this situation, Kevin Pietersen noted that is is absolutely ‘pathetic’ to see the two English stars chug up beers in Spain and not be a part of the IPL playoffs. He took to the social media to speak about the same as he wrote, “Absolutely PATHETIC that @benstokes38 & @josbuttler have to go drink a few beers in Spain instead of playing IPL finals!”

Absolutely PATHETIC that @benstokes38 & @josbuttler have to go drink a few beers in Spain instead of playing IPL finals!

— KP (@KP24) May 14, 2017