Jos Buttler has been one of the star players in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He is the vice-captain of the franchise Rajasthan Royals (RR) and has been an integral part of the same since 2018.
The England’s wicket-keeper’s journey in the cash-rich league started with the five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in 2016. Since then, he has been one of the stand-out players iof the T20 extravaganza.
In a conversation with Harsha Bhogle on Cricbuzz, Buttler revealed his all-time IPL XI.
The 30-year-old started by keeping himself along with Rohit Sharma in the opening slot.
“Rohit Sharma is my one of the favourite players, so he has to be there,” Buttler revealed.
At number 3, he picked Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli, followed by AB de Villiers. The Taunton-born preferred MS Dhoni as the wicket-keeper of the team.
The two all-rounders in Buttler’s XI are Kieron Pollard and Ravindra Jadeja. Both of them are excellent fielders and brilliant finishers.
The omission of Suresh Raina, who is popularly known as Mr. IPL, in the team is quite surprising.
The pace bowling attack comprises Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar.
Buttler stated that Malinga is one of the best and was simply unplayable at his peak, and Bumrah is following in his footsteps.
“When I think of Malinga at his best, he was pretty unplayable. 90 mile an hour and that devilish slow balls. He was quite incredible.”
“And Bumrah basically is the new Malinga,” he asserted.
Apart from Jadeja, India veteran Harbhajan Singh is the other spinner in the XI. He has an immense experience of 163 IPL matches and scalped 150 wickets so far
Buttler in the 64 innings in the IPL has amassed 1968 runs at a brilliant strike rate of 150 and recently scored his maiden century in the now-postponed tournament against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). He made 124 runs in 64 balls and was adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’.
Jos Buttler’s all-time IPL XI: Jos Buttler, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni (WK), Kieron Pollard, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga.
