Buttler, Livingstone and the rest of the England cricket squad leave IPL early for T20 World Cup duty

Punjab Kings (PBKS) and England all-rounder Liam Livingstone have left India ahead of schedule to get his knee "sorted out" ahead of the T20 World Cup in June.

The rest of England's T20 World Cup squad, who played in the IPL 2024, have also started to return home. Will Jacks and Reece Topley flew back to the UK after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) beat Delhi Capitals (DC) on Sunday night, while Jos Buttler left the Rajasthan Royals (RRS) camp ahead of their match against PBKS in Guwahati on Wednesday.

Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, and Phil Salt will also leave India this week, with the England squad expected back in the country by the end of the week. The squad will meet in Leeds ahead of England's first T20I against Pakistan at Headingley on May 22.

Before T20 World Cup, Livingstone wants knee 'fixed'

Livingstone has suffered a series of muscle injuries over the past two years and missed two matches at the start of the IPL season after going down on the field in a loss to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) last month. He was later dropped by PBKS as they tried to find their best combination of overseas players but returned to the side for Thursday's loss to RCB.

The knee injury is not serious enough to threaten his T20 World Cup prospects but will require a period of rest before England takes on Pakistan in four T20Is later this month.

Livingstone struggled to make an impact for PBKS, who were among the first teams to be eliminated from the IPL 2024 play-off race, in what he described as a "disappointing" campaign. He scored 111 runs at 22.20 in seven innings, batting at 142.30 and taking three wickets in 12 overs.

It extends a lean winter in franchise cricket for him after a quiet SA20 season with MI Cape Town and a two-match stint with Sharjah Warriors.