England wicket-keeper batter Jos Buttler is one of the best in the business when it comes to limited-overs cricket. Like every cricketer, Buttler also had idols during his growing-up days. In fact, there were two Indian cricket greats who inspired the Englishman to take up the sport.
Buttler is one of the most loved cricketers in India. His association with the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals has increased the bond. He was recently in India to play the 14th edition of IPL and returned back to England after BCCI called off the tournament for the time being in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis in the country.
Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly are my inspirations – Jos Buttler
Meanwhile, speaking of inspirations, most batters of the current generations idolised Sachin Tendulkar. The Little Master is arguably the finest batter in world cricket over the last 20-30 years, has the biggest records to his name in the sport. But, for Jos Buttler, the inspiration came from the likes of Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly.
“Those were my formative years and watching that game with Ganguly and Dravid scoring big hundreds had an incredible impact,” Buttler was quoted as saying to Cricbuzz.
Former India skippers – Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid were two of the finest batters of modern-day cricket. The two were at the center of many match-winning performances over the years and took Indian cricket to bigger heights.
“Ind vs SL, Taunton, 1999 World Cup was my first experience of seeing Indian crowds and that ignites the fire of how passionate people are about the game and how cool it would be to play in a World Cup,” Jos Buttler added.
That partnership between Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid was one of the most iconic partnerships to have ever taken place in the history of ODI cricket. The Indian duo stitched a 318-run stand for the second wicket, with Ganguly scoring 183 and Dravid 145. Thanks to their partnership, India put 373 runs on the board which was a mammoth of a target back then. Sri Lanka were bundled out for 216 while chasing.
Meanwhile, Jos Buttler is likely to be next seen during the series against Sri Lanka. It is likely that the management will rest the IPL-bound players from the series against New Zealand.
