IPL 2025: 3 Reasons Why RR Released Jos Buttler

Probuddha Bhattacharjee

Jos Buttler playing for Rajasthan Royals [Source: @cricbuzz/x.com]Jos Buttler playing for Rajasthan Royals [Source: @cricbuzz/x.com]

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The mega auction of the IPL 2025 is being stated as the biggest auction ever. The tournament has already created a buzz among the fans with all the new retention rules and salary caps. Drawing curtains on the anticipation of cricket fans, the IPL teams released their retention lists for the upcoming season on October 31. 

There were quite a few surprises as the ten teams published their retention lists. While some Indian youngsters got huge hikes, some international stars were not retained by their respective franchises. One such star is Jos Buttler, who was not retained by the franchise despite establishing himself as an integral part of the Rajasthan Royals. There has been a lot of discussion, and the move has also earned the franchise quite a bit of criticism from the fans. However, there are deeper aspects to look at, and in this article, we will try to analyse the reasons RR released the English star. 

Jos Buttler’s Career With Rajasthan Royals

Before proceeding, let's take a look at Jos Buttler's statistics while playing for the Rajasthan Royals.

Matches
Runs
Average
Strike Rate
838,05541.85147.80

Jos Buttler’s IPL career took a positive curve after his arrival in RR. He has previously played for the Mumbai Indians but did not have a great time with the five-time IPL champions.

Now let us take a look at the reasons RR decided not to retain Jos Buttler for IPL 2025 - 

Injury Prone

Jos Buttler is currently the designated captain of the English limited-overs team. However, he has not been able to play his role because of injuries in the recent past. The English opener has missed a couple of series, and every time he has been back on the field, he does not look like the same old player. Given the injuries that he is suffering, Rajasthan Royals might have thought that their money would be better spent on a young Indian player, someone like Dhruv Jurel.

Decline in Performance

Runs scored by Jos Buttler In The Last 3 IPL Seasons [Courtesy: Data Wrapper]Runs scored by Jos Buttler In The Last 3 IPL Seasons [Courtesy: Data Wrapper]

The graph shows us the decline in Buttler’s performance in the last three seasons. He had a stellar season in 2022, where he scored 863 runs and dominated the league. But since then, Buttler had lacked consistency. There have been two or three brilliant shows in the last two years, but it is consistent and impactful starts that a team looks for in T20s, and that has been lacking in his performance. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s performances might have covered up for the vacuum created by Buttler’s lack of consistency, but it seems like the management is looking to think beyond this.

Buy Back Option

While the fans are criticising the move by the Royals, tactically, it seems like a genius. There is always the option of buying Jos Buttler back in the mega auction. Looking at the purse of the franchises left for the auction, there is little chance that Buttler will fetch more than INR 15 Cr in the auction. So, buy releasing him, RR have kept the option of buying a better option or buying him back at a cheaper price.

Conclusion

While we discuss, talk about, and criticise the move made by the franchise, one must not forget that one of the heads of the RR think tank is Rahul Dravid. He must have had a say in the retentions of the team. Besides, how good or bad the move was and what the exact plan behind it was will be revealed with time.