I'm in the form of a lifetime, says Jos Buttler

07/15/2018

Jos Buttler has been having the time of his life in recent months, first with the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and now with the England squad as he reveals that he’s still hungry for more. Since opening for RR, Buttler has scored 1,099 in all formats at an average of 78 and with a strike-rate of 117.

Buttler was a rather unknown commodity ahead of the IPL this year after he was picked up for a sum of Rs.4.4 crore by Rajasthan Royals from Tina Ambani-owned Mumbai Indians. He began this year’s tournament in a quiet fashion initially, but all that changed as soon as he was bumped up to open the innings for the RR franchise.

Buttler equalled Virender Sehwag’s record of five consecutive half-centuries as he scored five back-to-back half-centuries which include scores of 67. 51, 82, 95 and 94 but that was not enough to lead the Royals to the play-offs. Buttler’s form for the England cricket team has also seen a significant rise as far as total runs scored were considered as he scored 1,099 in all formats at an average of 78 and with a strike-rate of 117. The RR opener passed 50 in 13 of his 20 innings while he managed to smash 31 sixes along the way.

The right-handed batsman, who is arguably in the form of his life, revealed that although he is just enjoying every innings as it came, he was still hungry to do more be it with the English cricket team or in any other domestic league as well.

"It’s been a really enjoyable few months. Yeah, it’s the form of a lifetime, but what I’ve done well is having the hunger and desire to turn up the next day and do it again. I want to be able to continue that," Buttler told the Mail on Sunday.

The 27-year old batsman added that the IPL was a total eye-opener for him as he went up against the best players in the game in the form of Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson and others. He also revealed that he looked up to former Sri Lankan skipper, Kumar Sangakkara for inspiration and tried to imitate his style of play on the field.

"When I was younger, I used to believe you couldn’t score runs every time. You’d play a good innings, and think it took the pressure off: if I don’t play as well tomorrow, it’s not the worst thing, because yesterday I played really well.

"The IPL was a big eye-opener. I also watch guys like Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root, Kane Williamson – I’ve watched how consistent they are. Kumar Sangakkara’s another. He’d just want to turn up each day and win the game for his team," Buttler added.

Buttler also revealed that his rise in form is down to his rigorous practice routine that he has adopted which also involved a sharp drop in the consumption of sugar in his diet. The RR player reckoned that it was important to put in the time to keep himself at peak fitness in order to perform better.

"It’s about that purity of batting and being in the moment,’ he says. ‘It’s more accessing your subconscious. I also feel really determined and excited to find out how high the ceiling is – not putting limits on anything. Where is the level I can get to?

"Suddenly without knowing it, you’re 27 – and I thought I was still 21, 22, starting out. Now I’m realising I’m at that stage of my career where I want to be accessing how good I can be," he concluded.

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