Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler revealed that Wankhede is his favourite playing ground in India and said that he was always desperate to become an all-format player for England. The 2022 Orange Cap winner has been continuing his fine form from last season as he scored three half-centuries from sixes matches for the Rajasthan Royals.
Speaking to Humans of Bombay on their YouTube show ‘How the Hell Did I Do it’. The England white-ball skipper spoke about his early days in cricket, his favourite playing stadium in India, dealing with criticism, and his aspirations to become an all-format player. Jos Buttler opened up about his favourite ground in India.
“Love Jaipur, but have a soft spot for Mumbai as well, my first team. Was with MI for two seasons. Wankhede is my favorite stadium in India,” Jos Buttler said.
The hard-hitting wicket keeper-batter has played 24 matches for the Mumbai Indians, scoring 527 runs at an average of 25.10 and a strike rate of 145.98. He was part of the franchise in 2016, where they won their third title in the cash-rich league. Speaking about taking the criticism from experts, Buttler said.
“Acceptance is a big part. of Accepting that broadcaster pays someone to give their opinion. They’re just doing their job. It’s not a personal attack on me when they criticize me.
Speaking about his inspirations in cricket, Jos Buttler revealed that South Africa’s Jonty Rhodes was an inspiration for him in the early days and the legendary Australia wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist, who used to go all-guns-blazing was another inspiration for the English skipper and said that Steve Waugh expressiveness motivated him to take up the game.
“Jonty Rhodes was an early inspiration for me. I used to love fielding. The 1999 World Cup was in England so very clear memories of going and watching some of those games. Adam Gilchrist was another inspiration. Wicketkeeper batsman. Changed the mode of keeper-batsman, and I was excited to watch. Steve Waugh, because Australia was so dominant,” he added.
Earlier in the game against Chennai Super Kings, Jos Buttler completed 3,000 runs in the IPL during the process, taking just 85 innings to achieve this milestone, the third-fastest in the league, and now has 3075 runs at an average of 39.94 and a strike rate of 149.49 in the cash-rich league.
I Was Desperate To Become An All-Format Player – Jos Buttler
Jos Butler disclosed that he was desperate to become an all-format player for England and admitted that he didn’t perform consistently in red-ball cricket and said that world-class players adapt to conditions in every single format for their country.
“I’m better at T20s and ODIs. I was desperate to become an all-format player. And be a successful Test player. I played a lot of Test cricket in the end but never performed to a level consistently. That’s frustrating. But the best players in the world perform in every single format, they adapt to conditions,” Jos Buttler added.
Jos Buttler was dropped after a disappointing Ashes tour, with his performances getting poorer in the format since 2021. The 31-year-old has managed only two tons in 57 Tests with 2907 runs at an average of 31.94 in test cricket.