England batsman Jos Buttler on Wednesday said he aspires to achieve India and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli’s consistency.
Buttler, who had a good run in the Indian Premier League last season with Rajasthan Royals in 2018, is happy that his stint in the league helped him to deal with expectations. With World Cup, Buttler who had a great series against West Indies is raring to go and is not bothered about peaking early.
“The idea of peaking isn’t really an idea that sits naturally in my mindset. Sometimes you hear people talking about going to another level. Why can’t you just stay at peak level,” Buttler, who had reached Jaipur on Wednesday, told British media prior to his departure.
He then gave the example of Indian captain Virat Kohli, who has 66 international hundreds, including 41 in One-day International. “Someone like [Virat] Kohli scores a hundred every game. He doesn’t think: ‘Ah, that was okay, I’ll peak at some point’. Just do it every day. That’s the sort of mindset I’ve been wanting to hit.”
What Buttler loves about India is the “chaos”. “You have to deal with that chaos,” he said.
“It might be the timings of things. We’re very lucky in England: everything’s very structured. But in India you have to deal with chaos, and I think that helps dealing with expectation,” he said.
“Being an overseas player is a new experience as well. You’re one of four, rather than one of 11. Someone like [MS] Dhoni is coolness personified most of the time.
“A lot of the time, it’s making sure you show that externally, even if you’re not on the inside. And a lot of trust in your ability, that allows you then to let your subconscious take over in the middle.”
