Jos Buttler’s future in England colours remains uncertain following his off-colour outing in this year’s T20 World Cup. For the IPL, though, where he has had a stellar career in Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans jerseys, the former England white-ball captain knows what is to be done and so is not worried about his form.
“It’s not more important or less important than any other IPL I’ve played. No matter what’s gone on before, I always turn up for the IPL. Looking forward to the season, wanting to contribute to the team’s cause and wanting to play well. So, whether I’ve been scoring lots of runs coming into the IPL or not, it’s the same challenge,” Buttler said during a virtual interaction with select media on Saturday.
“Can you prepare well? Can you get in a good headspace to go out there and give yourself the best chance to perform? Do you have the energy to keep trying, keep putting yourself out there, keep preparing well and trying to get back into the runs?
These are the questions one will ask. For me, though, it’s the same challenge, whether I’ve been, like I said, in form or out of form.
“And I turn up to the IPL every year, excited, looking forward to the tournament and really wanting to just play well for the team. So, I’ll just look at the scoreboard and try and do what’s required on the day,” Buttler elaborated.
Just 87 runs in eight innings in the T20 Cup was an extremely un-Buttler-like showing. However, “energy and optimism” continue to be his primary characteristics, pushing him to churn out his A-game in this IPL as well.
“Ultimately, I put a lot of effort into that World Cup for a multitude of reasons probably. It just didn’t quite work out. So, you’re always trying to reflect and self-analyse. If there was that one secret, then I think we’d all know it and we’d all score runs every time, but I don’t think that exists. I’ve had a bit of space (away) from the game, which I’ve really enjoyed, sort of reflected on whether I’ve scored runs or not. The challenge is the same thing for me – to go to practice with energy and optimism, prepare well and then go to the game, start on goal and take it from there,” Buttler explained.