Jos Buttler talks about the benefits of playing a full season in India, his performances with Mumbai Indians, and his Test ambitions
Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi21-May-2016You have been in India since March. You must be homesick?
Yes, I’ve been here for a while. We would have had a gap had England gone out early from the World T20, but we ended up getting to the final, which seemed a long way off when we were chasing 230 in Mumbai [against South Africa]. I am a home person. I do miss home, but it is a fascinating country to come to. I have embraced and really enjoyed the time here. Cricket has taken me to different places, and then mid-IPL my girlfriend came over and we took a three-day break in Goa, which was good to get away from cricket and relax.Watching from England what did you think of the IPL?
You watch it from England and you think, “I want to be there, I want to be involved.” You look around at the names who are playing together in this tournament, along with the coaches, all these heroes who you have watched on TV, and you may be lucky enough to play with and against them. It creates cricket that you would never see anywhere else. The thought of myself being coached by Ricky [Ponting] is not something that will happen anywhere else apart from the IPL.Watching from England you hear all these things all the time about how players come back and say the IPL improved my game, so you think, “I want a bit of that cake too.”
“I have certain players who I look up to massively, but you have to remember there are so many variables that judging yourself against other people is quite dangerous. The only person I should judge myself against is myself”
So what does the IPL taste like?
It has been a hell of an experience. Personally I haven’t played as well as I would have liked to. I haven’t played the type of innings I know I can. I haven’t shown quite what I am capable of, but it has taught me a lot, mentally. The demands on you, especially as an overseas player, you feel the pressure. I have only played in one franchise tournament before [the IPL]. Also, the expectations of being with a team like Mumbai Indians are huge. You feel that. I know that is something I have to become mentally aware of, and find the best way to deal with.There will probably be expectations even back home in England. You are the most expensive England player in the IPL. Is that challenging?
I have very high expectations of myself as well. The only way I can meet expectations of myself and what I think I am capable of is to make sure my game is in order and I am doing things that allow me to perform at my best, to make sure my training is good, to make sure I am focused on watching the ball and not worried about the external expectations.How has Ricky Ponting helped you out?
I can’t speak highly of him, because he is an Australian! ()The thing that really stands out about him is his energy for the game and his passion for cricket. He just desperately wants to help people do well and to improve. His knowledge is second to none, not just of his own game and his own experiences, but also of other people, of techniques. He helps by giving little pointers.When I get the chance, I want to talk to him about the longer form. I have been dropped from the Test side. He covered a little bit of the Ashes when I played, so I would like to know if he may have any pointers on my game. One of the main things that stand out for me is the mentality of the best players. They really want to be in those big moments, have the responsibility, the trust in themselves and the self-belief. That just shows the hunger to be the one who plays well, get into a contest with the opposition and take the game home. You watch Rohit [Sharma] bat and he really takes that responsibility and wants to be there till the end.”One of the things that I like to pride myself on is being the guy who sees the game through till the end”•BCCIYou said that you have not performed to the desired levels. What is missing?
Just the scores. In T20, even when you are in form and you feel like you are making good contributions, you are going to only face 30 or maximum 40 balls in the position where I bat in the middle order. T20 is a game where you have to be really brave and you have to be 100% committed to take on those shots. Some of the times I have been getting myself in, I would like to take five to ten balls to get in, but that just hasn’t quite come off. I also love to finish off games and stay not out. I had a couple of opportunities to do that, which I haven’t managed. One of the things that I like to pride myself on is being the guy who sees the game through till the end. I know Virat Kohli is trying to buck the trend, but you can’t go out and score runs every time you go out to bat. His consistency is amazing. As long as I know I have given myself the best chance to perform and mentally I have been getting at the right intensity, then it does not matter whether the runs come or not.There used to be the Dilscoop. Now there is the Buttler Scoop. Is that one of your favourite strokes?
That is a shot I have worked a lot on and is a huge part of my game. Because people know I can play that shot, they shut it off straightaway. So I don’t play it as much as I would like to. That is what I was talking about – about having that 100% commitment to what I do. It is a very premeditated shot, but also sometimes in T20 it is hard not to premediate every ball, whereas I know when I play my best I stand there and watch the ball closely and trust myself to react to whatever the ball is. Sometimes in T20 you can get a little bit too premeditated and think, “I need a boundary this ball and I am going to hit it straight.” The bowler might bowl somewhere else and because I am looking in one area, you forget about the rest of the field.
“The thing that really stands out about him is his energy for the game and his passion for cricket. He just desperately wants to help people do well and to improve”On Ricky Ponting, Mumbai Indians coach
Have you picked up tricks about playing spin?
Facing Harbhajan Singh in the nets is a fantastic learning ground, and playing spin is a huge part of that. There is always a game every night on TV, so you can watch different guys, how they go about playing spin. You are watching guys who play spin the best, how well they pick the length, how well they move into position and don’t face many balls, to be able to rotate the strike and not allow pressure to build on you is crucial.The view back home in England about playing the IPL is mixed. Some notable pundits believe it marks the end of your Test career. If you were to have stayed back and played county cricket and not played in the IPL, do you reckon you might have missed something valuable?
Definitely. This is the ninth edition of the IPL and, for me, English players have been missing out for a long time. There are plenty of cricketers over here who are fantastic Test match players as well. I think it is an old-fashioned view that if you come to the IPL then your Test career is done.Trevor Bayliss [England head coach] and Andrew Strauss [director of England cricket] are forward-thinking guys and place a lot of importance on white-ball cricket. I spoke to Trevor about going to the IPL and asked, “Do you feel that is me saying I don’t want to be a Test match cricketer?” He said, “Of course, not.” According to Trevor, it is not closing any doors. One of the main things Trevor has always said is, no matter what form of the game you are playing, the basics are exactly the same. No, I don’t feel like I am putting an end to my Test aspirations.”I think it is an old-fashioned view that if you come to the IPL then your Test career is done”•Getty ImagesDo you think it is not mandatory anymore to play first-class cricket to qualify to play for your country?
I am still going to try and play a few [county] games when I go back to England. Mostly, guys who play well in ODI cricket and score runs consistently in general have been noticed as those who could potentially cross over into the Test side. There have been two halves to my Test career: I started quite well and fell away quite badly. I know I need to really improve if I am going to get back in the Test side. You make decisions based in a point in time. Right now an opportunity came up to come to the IPL and that was one I was never going to turn down.You have the most runs among Mumbai batsmen batting at No. 4 or lower – 222 from 13 games – third highest among all teams. Out of those 222 runs, 123 have come in 58 balls in the last five overs of the innings at a strike rate of 212.06. Are you being a little too harsh on yourself?
The expectations I put on myself are too high. I don’t know if that holds me back sometimes or makes me feel I am not playing as well as I can. That is something I am trying to learn not to do as much as possible – judge myself against other people. I have certain players who I look up to massively, but you have to remember there are so many variables that judging yourself against other people is quite dangerous. The only person I should judge myself against is myself. If I have prepared well and given myself the best chance, I know how well I can play.What is the one thing you would like to take back to England from the IPL?
I would love to go back having made a really telling contribution in a game. I would love to stand up and win a game.
