Published: Jun 05, 2016, 11:02 AM (IST)
Edited: Jun 05, 2016, 11:25 AM (IST)
England’s T20I and ODI wicketkeeper Jos Buttler is aiming to earn a regular place in his national team’s Test side, and has praised IPL and Mumbai Indians’ (MI) mentor Ricky Ponting for the valuable lessons. The MI player is a mainstay in his team’s ODI and T20I colors, but has witnessed Jonny Bairstow take his spot as the primary wicketkeeper in the Test team. Bairstow has been in tremendous form, having scored a match-winning 140 in the first Test against Sri Lanka. Buttler, who is currently playing for Lancashire Lightning, was a regular fixture in the MI team which failed to defend their title in IPL 9. ALSO READ: Jos Buttler signs 3-year deal with Lancashire
Despite MI not having the greatest of IPL’s, Buttler was contend with his own performance. Cricket.com.au reported him saying, “The IPL was fantastic – everything you would hope and expect it to be and then more on top. The amount of talent in the dressing room, the coaches – I loved working with Ricky Ponting, such an impressive guy and with so much knowledge and passion for the game.”
“And the cricket is just brilliant. Going through that experience should really stand you in good stead for international cricket. There was so much information, it was a honeypot of information, but the thing ‘’ve learned is it’s about how you use it.” ALSO READ: Jos Buttler pokes fun at Alastair Cook; James Taylor tags along
“It’s up to you to filter it so you don’t get confused. It reinforces that you are your own best coach and you have to look after yourself as a player. Once I organise all those thoughts in my head and play well then I feel I can become a Test player.”
He also spoke about trying to make it to the England’s Test side. “I feel like I’ve got all the attributes to play Test cricket and it’s now up to me to put them in order and understand the way I want to play and really commit to it and trust myself.”
“I think through my one-day performances and potential I was picked to play Test cricket the first time. Now I think it is down to myself to demand to play Tests through performance. I want to be one of those players who, through performance, really bangs the door down and can’t be ignored.”
