English star batsman and limited-overs vice-captain Jos Buttler was recently interrupted by his 18-month-old daughter Georgia while he was virtually interacting with reporters ahead of the white-ball tour in South Africa.
Buttler spoke about how he and his teammates were happy and grateful that the tour was finalised just in the nick of time of their departure after facing initial hiccups. The cricketer also spoke at length about the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent challenges it brought in the world of cricket.
"It's a lot tougher to escape the game to have real differentials between the game and your relax and recovery time," he said, whereas, in the recent edition of the IPL, he had his wife and young daughter with him in the United Arab Emirates. If you're feeling under pressure or not quite feeling yourself, the key is to have the confidence to open up and talk about it," Buttler said.
The wicket-keeper batsman added that the year was a tough one but felt lucky that England managed to carry on during the hard times. Around this time, cricketer's daughter Georgia could be heard in the background in a seemingly joyful mood. "Excuse my little one," Buttler said before introducing his daughter to the camera and carrying on with the interview.
"Having my family with me the whole time in the IPL has obviously been a huge plus for me and my mental well-being, the time spent with them," he said.
"And with it still being a relatively short tour with this three extra ODIs, I was very keen to go and play. I really miss playing ODI cricket. Since (winning) the World Cup (in 2019), I have only played three games so I'm really looking forward to getting back amongst that team."
Buttler will return home from South Africa after the three-match T20i series from November 27 to December 1, thereby missing the three-match one-day international series from December 4 to December 9. English superstars Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer will follow a similar schedule.
(With AP inputs)