Published 20:03 IST, November 13th 2020
Jos Buttler justifies batting in the middle-order for Rajasthan in IPL 2020
English keeper-batsman Jos Buttler revealed what made him bat in the middle-order for the 2008 winners Rajasthan in the recently-concluded Dream11 IPL 2020
Jos Buttler, who usually opens the innings for Rajasthan revealed what made him bat in the middle-order for the franchise in the recently-concluded Dream11 IPL 2020. When it comes to international cricket, Buttler is one of the best middle-order batsmen as well as one of the great finishers in modern-day limited-overs cricket.
'I didn’t think our team had the right balance': Jos Buttler
“It actually probably came from myself saying I didn’t think our team had the right balance,” the wicket-keeper batsman said while speaking to Sky’s IPL Cricket Show.
“I thought we were lacking a bit of experience in the middle, and I thought we were a bit top-heavy. Losing games and it felt like there were a couple of games we didn’t quite close out when we were in good positions, and I felt like if we had had a bit more experience in that position, maybe we would have got over the line,” the English limited-overs specialist added.
At the same time, Buttler also justified that Rajasthan's new talent- Rahul Tewatia would have needed a more experienced campaigner alongside him in order to balance their team a bit better.
“Rahul Tewatia had a great season for us with the bat, being a bit of a finisher, but I felt like a more experienced guy alongside him would have balanced our team a bit better. It was an offering, really, from myself to say: I haven’t had the runs I’d have liked at the top and I’m quite happy to move. I thought for our team, it looked a better balance having a more experienced player in the middle as well", said the 2019 World Cup winner.
The Taunton cricketer had a hot and cold season as he managed 328 runs in 13 matches.
Rajasthan in Dream11 IPL 2020
The inaugural edition's champions seemed to have got off to a perfect start after registering two successive wins against northern rivals Punjab and Chennai. However, they ran out of fire & brimstone after that and went on to lose a few crucial encounters.
Towards the end of their campaign, ace all-rounder Ben Stokes played a couple of crucial knocks as the former champions managed to keep their tournament hopes alive. Nonetheless, a huge 59-run loss against the two-time winners Kolkata in their last league match knocked them out of this year's competition.
The 2008 winners finished the mega event as the wooden-spooners with just 12 points from 14 matches and a much inferior net run-rate than the other teams did not help their cause either.
(Image Courtesy: PTI)
Updated 20:04 IST, November 13th 2020