He said that conversations between IPL teammates is not something that can never happen during the series. (Source: Reuters)
Jos Buttler said that friendships forged between the Indian and English players during the IPL will be forgotten on the pitch during the upcoming five Test series. “There are a few guys I have played with,” said Buttler. “Naturally you have friendships with them but on the field they seem to be forgotten and everyone is competitive.”
Buttler played with the Mumbai Indians in 2017 and the Rajasthan Royals this year. He shared a dressing room with Hardik Pandya and Ajinkya Rahane in both instances. “There are familiar faces, guys you know a bit more about than just the cricket. That is one of the great things about world cricket now. You get these opportunities to play around the world and meet these great people. There is a lot more familiarity between the sides than there ever has been before,” said Buttler.
He said that conversations between IPL teammates is not something that can never happen during the series. “Not on the pitch but maybe on the training days and around the lunch room. Moeen played with Virat at RCB and [Yuzvendra] Chahal. I saw them getting on quite well. I have played with Hardik Pandya at Mumbai so you are open to having a chat.
“I am sure there will be moments in the Test series, especially on the field, when those things look like they have been forgotten. It will be highly competitive. What you have to remember is people can get on well but the reason guys have got to international sport is they want to win and are competitive so it will be no different on the field. Off it maybe a little bit.”
Buttler enjoyed extraordinary success in IPL 2018. In the 13 matches that he played he scored 548 runs at an average of 54.8. His form earned him a call-up for England’s Test series against Pakistan. Before the IPL, he was speculated to be joining the likes of Adil Rashid in putting red ball cricket on the backburner and focussing on limited overs. He said that watching how great players go about their business helped him a lot.
“[They] make less mistakes under pressure,” said Buttler. “They seem to make the right decision a lot of the time. That is a skill. The hunger to do it day in day out at training, in the matches whether they have had successful matches the day before or not. That hunger really shines through in those top players. As well there’s Kumar Sangakarra, watching him play in county cricket, that desire and want to be the man to win the game for his team every day shines through in these players.
“The biggest thing I have learned from the IPL, it is obvious what the best players do and why they are the best players and stand-outs. They just have a different mentality, a winning mentality in every game and the consistency to do that,” he said.
“I feel like I have learned a hell of lot from watching guys train and go about their practice, ways they react to certain pressure moments in a game as well. Someone like Virat Kohli is an immensely talented guy but also watching him go about it you see that mentality of getting to the top, likewise with other players [like] David Warner and Steve Smith,” said Buttler.
He has played 20 Test matches since his debut in 2014 but is yet to get a century in the longest format of the game. He said that he would love to do that in this series. “I would love to achieve that feat. It is nice to think it has been four years since I made my debut. I have good memories against India but, like I said before I played against Pakistan, it is about reinforcing the enjoyment factor and the incredible opportunity it is to play Test cricket. For those two games I was not sure how it would go but I approached them in a great manner and it is important for me to do that going into this series,” he said.