India now have lot of fearless cricketers due to IPL, says Buttler

England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler has credited Indian Premier League (IPL) for producing fearless Indian cricketers and is hoping that his own and English players’ experience in the league may help the tourists in the upcoming four-Test series that begins here on Feb.5.

“There are a lot of fearless cricketers in India. A lot of them bred from the IPL,” said Buttler in a virtual interaction with the Indian media on Saturday.

Buttler added that India’s series win in Australia without Virat Kohli and a few of their other top players has shown the strength and depth Indian cricket possesses at the moment.

“Any time you play against India is a huge challenge. The Australia series really showed the amazing strength in Indian cricket and the Indian squad. To go and win the series missing Virat after the first Test and having so many injuries, just shows there is fantastic strength and depth and competition in Indian cricket,” he said.

India, who played the last three Test matches without their regular skipper Kohli, will see the return of India No.4 batsman in charge in the four Tests against England.

Buttler felt Kohli will be hungry. “Virat will be coming back having some time away from the Test matches. He will be hungry to lead and play well. So, it is going to be great challenge,” he said.

Buttler, 30, also said that having played in the IPL would help the England players get an understanding of the bowlers and their bowling actions, especially Jasprit Bumrah.

“I think the thing it [having played here in India] gives is familiarity of the wickets and the guy having played against majority of the guys sort of gets an understanding of how they bowl. The angles they create,” he felt.

“Of course, the formats are different and that is a huge change. Sometimes, if you haven’t faced before guys like Bumrah who has a unique action. If you haven’t faced him before it can take a bit of getting used to. Playing international cricket against India before and in the IPL, you certainly the know the angles and what to expect.”

The first and second Tests will be played at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium, with the opening match beginning on Feb.5 and the second on Feb. 13. Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes are England’s X-factor players in the forthcoming four-Test series against India, said Buttler.

Archer, Stokes and opening batsman Rory Burns were rested for England’s tour of Sri Lanka and reached India early, before the rest of the squad. They began practice on Saturday even as the rest of the team is in quarantine and will begin its practice from February 2.

“He [Archer] is certainly an X-factor player. Fantastic to have Jofra back in the side. He will be excited for the big series in India,” said Buttler during a virtual interaction with the media on Saturday.

“I think we have a few guys who can do quite amazing things with the ball obviously. James Anderson and Stuart Broad are two of the best seam bowlers to have ever played the game. Jofra obviously is a huge X-factor. Ben Stokes is truly a pretty good X-factor player,” he said.

Buttler backed the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) policy of rotating players for the India series, saying that England have a hectic schedule and living in the bubble can be hard.

“We are very fortunate to play cricket and do the job we love. Having said that we find it challenging to be spending time away from our family. Being in quarantine and locked up in hotels can be tough. Thought ECB has been forward-looking for us as an England group, so to rotate players,” added Buttler.

“At times there is frustration because you want to see your best players on show all the time. (But) it is just not possible with the amount of cricket and amount of time spent in bubbles to keep people healthy doing that. It is important to look after yourselves. With so much uncertainty, I find it tough,” he said.

Indo-Asian News Service