With the excitement building ahead of England’s five-Test series against India, “reinforcing the enjoyment factor” is high on Jos Buttler’s agenda as he gets ready for the “incredibly tough challenge” – the first Test starts August 1 at Edgbaston.
“Reinforcing the enjoyment factor and the incredible opportunity it is to play Test cricket … because those two games [against Pakistan] I wasn’t sure how it would go but I approached it in a great manner and that’s important for me to do that going into this series,” said Buttler.
The new England No.7 has no illusions about the challenge that India, the world’s No.1 side, will pose.
“He’s a guy with excellent variations. I think you very rarely pick every single delivery a wrist-spinner bowls. He’s got good disguise and I’m sure he will take the confidence he has been bowing with all summer into the Test matches.”
At the IPL, Buttler has played for Mumbai Indians apart from Rajasthan, and obviously knows a lot of the Indian cricketers well. Not just him, a host of England players were a part of IPL 2018, perhaps even forming bonds with the Indians.
“There’s a few guys I’ve played well and have friendships with. On the field, it seems to be forgotten and everyone is very competitive,” he said. “There’s familiar faces, guys who you know a bit more about than just the cricketer. That’s one of the great things about world cricket now.
The man-of-the-match! 🥇
How good is it to see @josbuttler back in the Test side?
Scorecard/Clips: https://t.co/tE2LNJmm3d#ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/p4e8f5ulci
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 3, 2018
“You get these opportunities to play all around the world and you get to meet some great people. There’s a lot more familiarity between the sides that there ever has been before. Moeen (Ali) played with Virat (Kohli) and (Yuzvendra) Chahal. I saw them getting on quite well. I’ve played with Hardik Pandya myself at Mumbai. I’m sure there will be moments during the series on the field where those things will be forgotten. It will be highly competitive.
“People can get on well, know people well, but it’s international sport, and the reason guys have got there is because they want to win so it’ll be no different.”
