India vs England: 'You won't see all your best players in every series,' Jos Buttler backs ECB's rotation policy

Jos Buttler has backed the rotation policy of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) during their two back-to-back tours of Sri Lanka and India, saying their top players won't feature in every series from here on, keeping in mind their mental well-being.

England recently toured Sri Lanka for a two-Test series, which Joe Root and Co won 2-0. The English side had rested fast bowler Jofra Archer and all-rounder Ben Stokes for the series, while opening batsman Rory Burns was granted paternity leave.

Earlier, England reached India for a full-fledged series including four Tests, five Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), and three One-Day Internationals (ODIs). While the trio has rejoined the national team in Chennai ahead of the first Test, it has been reported that wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow, all-rounder Sam Curran, and pacer Mark Wood will only be available for the last two Tests as part of the ECB's rotation policy.

"You want your strongest team out every time, but unfortunately, that doesn't seem possible at the moment. It's certainly a challenge but people around the world are going through tough situations. The pandemic has had people whose world has been turned upside down and we are very fortunate to play cricket and do the job that we love.

Having said that you do find it challenging having to stay away from your families, being in quarantine and locked up in hotels. ECB has been forward-thinking in rotating players for this series. At times, it's frustrating as you want to have the best players on the show all the time but it's not possible with the amount of time that one spends in a bio bubble. You can't expect people to keep doing that," Buttler said during a virtual media conference.

While many have questioned England's plans to rest Bairstow, who had a decent Sri Lanka tour, England head coach Chris Silverwood has defended the decision. "I'm perfectly happy with the system we're using at the moment. I stand by it. We've got to look after our people. We're spending a lot of time locked in hotel rooms inside bio-secure bubbles and it's not easy," he said in an interview on Saturday.

While the first two Tests between India and England will be played in Chennai, the last two, including a day-night game, will be held in Ahmedabad. The Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad will also host the five T20Is before both the teams will head to Pune for the 50-over matches.