CHENNAI: Jos Buttler does not hesitate to reiterate the influence of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in his career. The Englishman is, after all, one of the earliest to be accepted as a bonafide white-ball giant of the modern day game without bringing up his red-ball credentials. He has been a vital cog in the white-ball revolution of England, and to an extent world cricket, with unorthodox shots and aggressive batting style.
Buttler did the same in the IPL. The numbers speak for themselves. Among batters with more than 4000 runs in IPL, Buttler's (4311 runs) strike rate of 149.38 is only second to AB de Villiers (5162 runs at 151.68 SR). The mighty Chris Gayle (4965 runs at 148.96) is third.
It is fair to say that Buttler influenced the IPL as much as the league influenced him.
Now, after a decade of playing in the IPL, the 35-year-old finds himself at crossroads with his batting. Runs have dried up in the last few months and so has the confidence. During the recent T20 World Cup, he would spend hours alone in the nets with the England coaching staff on every training day, but it did not reflect on the field — 87 runs in eight games at 10.87 average painted a sorry picture. So much so that every press conference had a question about his form and place in the playing XI.
However, the England team threw his weight behind him on every occasion. And now, Gujarat Titans are no different. Titans have been his home over the last two years, and they have found a way to make him work in the top three. And it showed in last season where he smashed 538 runs predominantly batting at No 3 — Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan open the batting — at 59.78 average and 163.03 strike rate. Coming into a league and team where he has found immense success, Buttler hopes to put the past behind and bring out the best in IPL 2026.
The 35-year-old has spent some time away from the sport since the T20 World Cup and believes it has helped him get into a good mindset. Buttler felt he was trying too hard to find some runs and that did not help. "Ultimately, I tried hard. I put a lot of effort into that World Cup and, for a multitude of reasons probably, it just didn't quite work out," Buttler said in a select media interaction on Saturday. "Being a 35-year-old, I have had 15 years of times where I have had good form, bad form, tournaments that went really well, and tournaments that didn't go to plan. You're always trying to reflect and self-analyse, but pinpointing one thing is difficult. If there was that one secret, then I think we would all know it and we would all score runs every time. But I don't think that exists. I've had a bit of space from the game, which I've really enjoyed. I've reflected, and whether I've scored runs or not, the challenge is the same, go to practice with energy and optimism, prepare well, and then go into the game, start or not, and take it from there," he added.
Asked if this 2026 season holds more significance considering his form and where he is in his career, there is an instant 'no'. "No matter what's gone on before, I always turn up to the IPL, looking forward to the season, wanting to contribute to the team and wanting to play well. Whether I've been scoring lots of runs coming into the IPL, it's the same challenge. Can you prepare well? Can you get in a good headspace to go out there and give yourself the best chance to perform? Do you have the energy to keep trying, keep putting yourself out there, keep preparing well, and try to get back into the runs, as you would say? I turn up to the IPL every year excited, looking forward to the tournament, and really wanting to play well for the team. So I'll just look at the scoreboard and try to do what's required on the day," Buttler explained.
And once again, he is excited to bat alongside Gill and Sai Sudharsan, contributing to Titans' success. "We had a great year last year. I played a lot of really good cricket. Shubman and Sai were a fantastic opening partnership, two high-quality players with fantastic techniques that allow them to spend a lot of time at the crease, which was obviously great for the team last year. But we don't put too much expectation on them to have to replicate that, although I'm sure they'll want to and will be trying their best. But we are all ready to just play the game in front of us, play what's required, and do our roles for the team to the best of our ability," Buttler signed off.