Published 11:09 IST, November 12th 2020
Jos Buttler reveals mastermind behind return to middle order in Dream11 IPL 2020
Jos Buttler, who is often preferred as an opener, spoke on his move of shifting down to the middle order again for Rajasthan in the Dream11 IPL 2020.
England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler spoke on his move into the middle order for the Rajasthan franchise in the Dream11 IPL 2020. Buttler, who is often preferred in the role of an opener, also featured in Rajasthan's middle order during the tournament. He goes on to reveal the reasons for opting to move down to Rajasthan’s middle order.
Jos Buttler missed Rajasthan’s first game of the Dream11 IPL 2020 season as the Englsh international was under quarantine. After missing the first game, Buttler returns to Rajasthan’s setup and started 7 innings at the top for the team. Amongst those 7 innings, Buttler was dismissed for a single-digit score once. Apart from his 44-ball 70 against Mumbai, he failed to score more than 22 in other innings.
The Rajasthan IPL team owners and management backed Ben Stokes as an opener after the all-rounder arrived in Dubai. With Stokes’ promotion up at the top, Rajasthan’s middle order looked weak, especially with Robin Uthappa struggling with his form. That’s when Jos Buttler approached the team management and suggested how he could shift down and bat in the middle order for the team. Buttler is not new to playing in the middle order as he has shifted down into the position plenty of times and played for England's 50-over team.
Jos Buttler reveals the reason for his shift down the middle order
Speaking on the same in the Unplayable Podcast, Buttler conceded that the idea came to him since the team was struggling for balance, which is why there were a couple of games Rajasthan didn't quite close out when they were in good positions and thus he felt like if Rajasthan had a bit more experience in that position, maybe we would have got over the line.
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Buttler added that Rahul Tewatia had a great season for them with the bat, being a bit of a finisher, but he felt like a more experienced batsman alongside him would have balanced their team a bit better. The dynamic batsman also added that he wasn't getting the runs he desired at the top of the order, making it a move worthy to take even for the Rajasthan IPL team owners and management.
Jos Buttler's numbers as Rajasthan's middle-order batsman
Buttler recorded 160 runs in 5 innings for Rajasthan this year. This included a match-winning innings of 70 runs against Chennai. However, the English international was unable to help his team enough as Rajasthan fail to qualify for the playoff stages in this year’s Dream11. Indian Premier League.
Image Credits- Jos Buttler / Twitter
Updated 11:09 IST, November 12th 2020