Jos Buttler is likely to be restored to the top of the Rajasthan Royals order when the side play Kings XI Punjab. AFP
Jos Buttler is likely to be restored to the top of the Rajasthan Royals order when the side play Kings XI Punjab. AFP
Jos Buttler is likely to be restored to the top of the Rajasthan Royals order when the side play Kings XI Punjab. AFP
Jos Buttler is likely to be restored to the top of the Rajasthan Royals order when the side play Kings XI Punjab. AFP

IPL 2020: Jos Buttler 'excited to play first game' after linking up with Rajasthan Royals


Paul Radley
  • English
  • Arabic

Jos Buttler says he cannot wait to get started again in the IPL, as he prepares for his return with Rajasthan Royals.

The England wicketkeeper missed their opening day win over Chennai Super Kings.

He was still completing the quarantine process having travelled to Dubai with his family, separate to the contingent of Royals players who had come on a private charter direct from the England-Australia series in the UK.

Rajasthan now have to find space for him in a batting line-up that was in fine working order against Chennai.

Sanju Samson hit a blistering 74, and captain Steve Smith also hit a half-century having opened the innings.

Buttler is likely to be restored to the top of the order when the side play Kings XI Punjab in Sharjah on Sunday.

He says he was delighted by what he saw in the opening game while watching back at the team hotel in Dubai.

“It was great to get a win on the board, the team played fantastically well in the first game,” Buttler said. “It was an outstanding batting performance and a fantastic bowling performance in tough bowling conditions.

“I am really excited to play my first game. It was great to be back in training with the boys, there’s a great vibe around the team so I'm really looking forward to taking the field.

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Rajasthan v Chennai player ratings

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“The atmosphere and energy around the squad is fantastic, obviously lots of confidence after that first game.

“The training has been very energetic, guys are lively and enjoying each other’s company.”

Buttler also appreciated the performance of another wicketkeeper-opener, KL Rahul, who made a hundred against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday.

It was the highest score by an Indian in IPL history, and Buttler said his side will have to be at their best to halt him this time around.

“We are expecting a really tough match against Kings XI,” Buttler said.

“They are a fantastic team, and KL Rahul was in exceptional form the other night against RCB. He will be a key wicket as always.

“I think we’ll see another potentially high-scoring game at Sharjah with small boundaries and the dew factor coming in. Can’t wait to get back out there.”

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Gothia Cup 2025

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if you go

The flights

Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes. 

The hotels

Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes. 

When to visit

March-May and September-November

Visas

Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.

Ultra processed foods

- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns 

- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;

- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces

- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,

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Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score)

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Match is on BeIN Sports

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
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  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young