England batter Jos Buttler has spoken about a chat he had with former India captain Virat Kohli during a tough time in IPL 2023. After a brilliant 2022 season where he scored 863 runs in 17 matches, Buttler was finding it hard to score and asked Kohli for advice on dealing with pressure and expectations.
In a chat with former England pacer Stuart Broad on the For The Love Of Cricket podcast, Buttler shared that Kohli advised him to embrace the 2022 season as a career-best and not burden himself with the pressure of trying to repeat it.
“I had that one season in 2022 where I scored 860 runs. But he’s (Kohli) got the record for the most number of runs in a season (973 runs in 2016), which is phenomenal. I actually found the next season quite difficult because I was like, how do I live up to that? We were training at the same time as RCB. I have played against Virat a lot, huge competitor on the field and sort of feel like, he has aggro with everyone.”
“I thought I’d ask him a few questions after he finished batting — mainly about handling expectations. With so much pressure on him from a billion fans, I wanted to know how he deals with it. He was really generous and told me it’s okay to accept that one season might be your best ever. Don’t stress trying to repeat it. I left the chat feeling grateful for his time, his advice, and how well he understood even my game.”
Sharing his thoughts on his interaction with Virat Kohli, Buttler noted that the IPL offers a unique chance for players to connect with some of the best cricketers from around the world.
“I think that is one of the brilliant things about the IPL, getting to rub shoulders, it is like the best cricket academy in the world,” Buttler said.
Jos Buttler talks about playing for GT at Narendra Modi Stadium
After playing multiple seasons with Rajasthan Royals, Jos Buttler moved to Gujarat Titans for IPL 2025. The 34-year-old said he enjoyed being part of the team led by Shubman Gill. He also remembered being amazed by the massive crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium during a match against SunRisers Hyderabad.
“Really enjoyed it. After a long time with Rajasthan Royals, moving to a new team was a bit uncertain. But seeing familiar faces helped. Vikram Solanki, who I knew from England, made me feel at home. Having played 10 IPL seasons, I’d already shared teams with many guys — from Royals and my early days at Mumbai Indians.”
“Huge stadium in Ahmedabad. During a midweek game vs Sunrisers, I looked around after the powerplay and thought, my god, it’s full,” Buttler said. “90,000 people watching a regular league match on a Thursday night.”
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