India vs England | Jos Buttler looks to Virat Kohli for inspiration

Buttler has been in the form of his life ever since his stint with the Rajasthan Royals during the IPL this year. After getting off to a rather mellow start in the IPL, Buttler’s fortune changed as RR coach Shane Warne bumped the Englishman up the batting order as an opener. Buttler played some fine knocks batting at number one and also equaled Virender Sehwag’s record of five consecutive IPL half-centuries in this year’s tournament.

He carried that same form into the Test series against Pakistan where he received a recall from the English Cricket Board to the Test team based on his recent performances. Buttler scored an impressive 60 and an unbeaten 80* in the two Test matches against Pakistan which England went on to win.

The English batsman recently revealed that his hunger to achieve more came from top players in the sport like Virat Kohli. The Indian skipper’s relentless drive for perfection and passion to always be the best was something that Buttler looked up to.

"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. 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...that hunger really shines through in those top players.

"The biggest thing I have learnt from the IPL is that it's obvious what the best players do and why they are the best players and standouts.They just have a different mentality, a winning mentality in every game and the consistency to do that. I feel like I have learnt 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," Buttler told reporters at The Oval.

The 27-year also spoke about his admiration for India and how he hoped to have a decent Test series after he retained his spot in the England Test team. Buttler, whose highest Test score (85) came on his debut against India in 2014, also said that he had set himself a target of scoring his maiden Test century in the series against India.

"It is the ultimate aim, I would love to achieve that feat. I have good memories against India but it is about reinforcing the enjoyment factor and the incredible opportunity to play Test cricket. For those two games against Pakistan, 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 added.