Rajasthan Royals wicket-keeper Jos Buttler on Sunday confirmed that he will not be available for his side’s opening match against Chennai Super Kings as he will be in mandatory quarantine period. Buttler arrived in the UAE with his family and will have to complete the mandatory quarantine as per the protocols, laid out by the BCCI. Buttler shared the update with his fans during a live session on Rajasthan Royals’ official Instagram account.

“I am unfortunately gonna miss the first match for Rajasthan because I’m going to be doing my quarantine period. I’m here with my family… which is great that the Royals have allowed me to have my family over here, so it will be a huge help in the lockdown having my family here,” Buttler said in the video.

Buttler was also asked about whether his national teammate Ben Stokes will be able to able the rest of the squad to which he said: “hopefully”.

“Obviously…. Ben is taking some family time at the moment. I think everyone’s wishes are with him and everyone’s got him in our thoughts. Obviously, he is such a good player that at some point hopefully he will be able to join us in the pink,” he added.

When asked what is his preferred batting position, Buttler, without battling an eyelid, said, “Hopefully at the top, I like opening the batting in T20 but of course very happy to bat anywhere the captain and coach want me to”.

Buttler has been one of the mainstays of Rajasthan batting line-up during last two seasons, scoring 548 and 311 runs in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

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While having Buttler for their opening game would have been great, Rajsthan Royals still have some of the most exciting young Indian talents, including the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag, who will be raring to impress the management if given a chance.

Rajasthan will open their IPL 2020 campaign against Chennai Super Kings who will be high on confidence after registering a comfortable win over defending champions Mumbai Indians in the opening game of the tournament.