England player Jos Buttler feels that The Indian Premier League is the best tournament after the ICC World Cup. He admitted that Cash Rich T20 tournament has also helped English Cricket to grow.
Due to the COVID 19 pandemic situation which has brought all the sports events and tournaments into a halt that Buttler is unable to be a part of the league, as he was desperate to be a part of this year’s IPL.
The World Cup winner England wicketkeeper-batsman, has been a part of two franchises in the IPL. Actually, he played previously from the side of Mumbai Indians in the 2016-2017 season but Buttler moved to other franchise Rajasthan Royal in 2018.
“There’s no doubt that it (IPL) has helped English cricket grow and the numbers of players who were involved in the last few years,” Buttler said in a statement.
“It was something I was desperate to play. For me it’s the best tournament in the world, taking out the World Cups,” he added.
Buttler said that he the league is like fantasy cricket he aspired to play as kid, with the top stars of the game rubbing shoulders together.
“Some of the matchups you get to see in the IPL are great. Bangalore has been amongst the top three teams with (Virat)) Kohli, AB (de Villiers) and (Chris) Gayle coming up and then to see them up against a (Jasprit) Bumrah or a Dale Steyn or (Lasith) Malinga. As a kid growing up that is what you want to play — fantasy cricket. Mix all the teams together what it will be like if Kohli and de Villiers play together,” he added.
Buttler has given the credit to former captain Kevin Pietersen who advocated for the creation of a separate window for the IPL, including the English players to be a part of the cash-rich tournament.
“English cricket has got quite an interesting history with the IPL. The documentary about Kevin Pietersen and how he wanted to get involved and the roadblocks he faced,” he said.
“He really paved the way for a lot of us to go and now play in the IPL with more blessing from English cricket. He is a pioneer in building the steps in place to realise just how important the IPL is for developing cricketers,” Buttler added.
Due to the pandemic situation the 13the edition of IPL has been postponed which was originally scheduled in March. And it has also put in doubt about the T20 World Cup in Australia.
