Rajasthan Royals rope in Glenn Phillips as Jos Buttler’s replacement for IPL 2021

The Rajasthan Royals have roped in New Zealand star batsman Glenn Phillips for Jos Buttler, who will miss the second leg of IPL 2021 in UAE. Buttler and his partner Louise, are expecting the birth of their second child soon. The Royals will certainly miss Buttler’s services, who had scored 254 runs at a strike rate of 153.01, including his 124 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the first phase of IPL 2021 in India before it was postponed, due to the rise of COVID-19.

Phillips, who is currently with the Barbados Royals in CPL, is scheduled to join the Rajasthan Royals squad from September 19. Last November, Phillips hammered a 46-ball century against West Indies in Mount Maunganui, breaking Colin Munro's record for the fastest ton by a New Zealand batter in T20Is. The top-order batsman has 506 runs to his name in 25 T20Is with a strike rate of 149.70 and has also been involved in various cricket leagues around the world, most recently in The Hundred.

The loss of Jos Buttler for the remaining matches in UAE will be a big blow for the Royals, who have already lost the services of Jofra Archer in IPL 2021, due to an elbow injury. The England speedster will miss the T20I WC and the Ashes as well. Stokes, who has taken an indefinite break from cricket to take care of his mental wellbeing, is also highly unlikely to return for the second phase of the tourney in the UAE.

The Royals, who were placed fifth in the standings in this year's curtailed IPL, begin their UAE leg of IPL 2021 with the clash against Punjab Kings on September 21 in Dubai.