“Sacrificed a lot for cricket”: Jos Buttler open to missing Ashes 2021-22 due to Australia’s strict COVID-19 rules

Jos Buttler open to missing Ashes: The English wicket-keeper batsman has hinted at prioritizing family over sport after a point in time.

England wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler has admitted to being befuddled with respect to traveling to Australia for Ashes 2021-22. Deputy to Eoin Morgan in white-ball cricket, an ICC T20 World Cup 2021 followed by an Ashes series would mean a four-month season comprising of two major events.

If the same isn’t pressurizing enough, the prospect of traveling to Australia without family members is a daunting one for English cricketers.

Readers must note that Australia has very strict COVID-related rules and that ECB (England Cricket Board) and CA (Cricket Asutralia) are mulling over the same to accommodate family members of cricketers. It is worth mentioning that family members tend to accompany cricketers on an Ashes tour especially during the Christmas time.

“COVID is incredibly challenging for everyone and Australia has a very strict policy in how they’ve tried to deal with it. Until we get more information about what it [the Australia tour] might look like, it’s impossible to know what decision you’re making,” Buttler was quoted as saying by Sunday Times newspaper.

Jos Buttler open to missing Ashes 2021-22

Buttler, who has been rested and rotated under ECB’s rotation policy especially for multi-format players, faces a tough decision to make particularly if the Australian government doesn’t make an exception for Ashes 2021-22.

Buttler, 30, has played 52 Tests but is yet to play an Ashes Test down under. Even a strong possibility of ticking this box as an English cricketer isn’t enough to convince Buttler, who is open to give the series a miss if need be.

“One of the challenges is working out where the line is where you say I can’t do that. I’ve sacrificed a lot for cricket and my wife and family have sacrificed a lot.

ALSO WATCH: Jos Buttler and Jasprit Bumrah involved in heated exchange at Lord’s

“You have to be open to saying no. It would be incredibly disappointing if some players feel like they can’t do it, but we’re in a world at the moment where that is a possibility,” Buttler said.

In the 10 Tests that Buttler has played against Australia, he has scored 369 runs at a below par average of 20.50 with just a solitary half-century.