There are batsmen who heave the ball, muscle the ball, power the ball. They may fetch runs but don”t look attractive in the process. Their big hits please but don”t captivate.
Buttler”s charisma is that it does. Belonging to the brand of contemporary batsmen, Buttler has got every shot in the book. His ability to improvise is second to none. But what stands out is the elegance, grace and charisma he has.
While many batsmen rely on power, Buttler is someone who carefully dispatches the ball into the stands. All this clearly show he is a great asset to England in limited over formats and for the franchises he plays for as well.
Buttler was picked up by Mumbai Indians at 2016 Auction. His underperformances during 2016 season was a big disappointment for Mumbai Indians, given that he was given an extended run leaving a star player like Corey Anderson out.
However Mumbai showed faith in his credentials as a T20 batsman and retained him for 2017 season. He was given the opportunity to open the innings in 2017 along with Parthiv Patel.
In every innings so far this season he has looked good. His stay at the crease however has been short-lived. The innings containing his trademark ramp shot for six, the orgasmic cover drive were ephemeras, often cut short by misfortunes.
The short stays have been so spellbinding that the high has taken a long time to melt but left everyone disgruntled because it disappeared in blink of an eye.
Buttler opening and Rohit in the middle order solves many problems for MI.
While many believe he can be used as a floater, Mumbai”s best year have came when Rohit has batted in the middle order and it continues to happen again. It gives the middle order a sense of solidity in a 10 runs per over run chase.
Mumbai Indians have struck the right balance very early in the tournament and the only way they can dig a hole is by chopping and changing unnecessarily.
If Buttler converts his glimpses into long visuals like he did against KXIP, then we are in for something really special!!
– by Atharva Apte
