Enjoy Jos Buttler's entertainment without ranking him, advices Rohan Gavaskar
Former India player Rohan Gavaskar has opined that people should just enjoy the entertainment Jos Buttler provides without getting into the debate of labelling him the best English limited-overs batsman. He added that Buttlerās skillset and clarity of thought have been the reason for his success.
Jos Buttler has had an important role to play in Englandās rise to being one of the best limited-overs teams in the world currently. He further proved his importance by smashing 44 and an unbeaten 77 in the two matches that he played against Australia at the opening slot. The wicket-keeper batsman who primarily bats at No.5 or 6 in ODIs has an exceptional record while opening the batting, averaging 51 with at a strike rate of 157.73 in 11 innings.Ā
Former India cricketer Rohan Gavaskar reckoned that it is a bit too early to give the tag of Englandās best to someone even of Buttlerās caliber. Gavaskar agreed that Buttler is an exceptionally talented cricketer but in the same breath, he refused to term him Englandās best.
āWe tend to sort give these greatest of all time tags quite often, Messi is the GOAT, Pele is the GOAT, Maradona is the GOAT. I think itās wrong to put someone and say heās (Buttler) the best white-ball cricketer theyāve had. There have been some fantastic cricketers that England have produced even in the 70s and 80s. Heās a quality player, thereās no doubt about it but to rank him? I donāt like doing that. You should just sit back and enjoy whatever heās doing on the cricket field, enjoy his skills, enjoy his strokes, enjoy the entertainment that he gives us,ā Gavaskar told Hindustan Times.
Buttlerās unbeaten 77 in the 2nd T20I prompted Broad to term him as Englandās best, putting him in the category of worldās best. However, Gavaskar opined that Buttler still has to perform consistently at the top for a longer period of time to be compared with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, David Warner, and Aaron Finch. Explaining the reasons behind Buttlerās success in limited-overs cricket, Gavaskar added that it has a lot do with his skillset and clarity of thought.
āIf you look at someone like Warner, Rohit, or even Finch, theyāve unbelievable numbers. And Buttler will be up there but these guys have been doing it for a lot longer at the top of the order. Buttler has just started to open. This is not to take anything away from him, I think heās a fantastic cricketer,ā Gavaskar said.
āButtler has the clarity of thought. Heās got a very clear game plan in his head. He knows exactly how heās going to approach his innings. He knows whether to go from ball one or to build an innings gradually after assessing the pitch. And obviously, heās got the skillset, you can have as good a game plan or a clear head but if you donāt have the skillset to back it up, itās of no use. Heās got enormous skills in white-ball cricket. Heās got a wide range of strokes, heās innovative.āĀ
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