For me, IPL is the best tournament after the World Cups: Jos Buttler

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is termed as one of the best T20 tournaments in the world for with the quality of cricket that is played during the league. Jos Buttler recently opened up about his thoughts on the cash-rich competition. The World Cup-winning player talked about the advantages of the tournament and said that he is ‘desperate to play’ in the latest edition.

Butter credited IPL for helping English cricket reach several heights. He also said that the league has helped many English players in their game. He also expressed his willingness to play in the IPL 2020, which has now been postponed indefinitely. The Lancashire player also credited the IPL to be the best in the world, apart from the World Cup.

“There’s no doubt that it (IPL) has helped English cricket grow and the number of players who were involved in the last few years. It was something I was desperate to play. For me it’s the best tournament in the world, taking out the World Cups,” Buttler said in the BBC Podcast ‘The Doosra’.

Jos Buttler lauds Pietersen for his insistence of playing in the IPL

Talking about the standard of cricket played at the IPL, Jos Buttler pointed out some of the matchups a player can experience during the T20 tournament. “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,” the 29-year-old added. He also talked about the way England cricketers resisted the idea of participating in the league during its initial days and Kevin Pietersen for bringing in the idea first. He also credited the former batter to help everyone in the country realise the importance of playing in the IPL.

“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 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,” Jos Buttler further said.