Mumbai: Rajasthan Royals and England wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler says if a commentator criticises a player, he is only doing his job, and that acceptance should be an integral part of any cricketer’s career.
“Acceptance is a big part of the job. Accepting that broadcaster pays someone to give their opinion; they are just doing their job. It is not a personal attack on me when they criticise me,” Buttler told Humans of Bombay in an interview.
“And I watch other sports. I watch football and go ‘oh how did he miss that?! It was so easy’. That is exactly what people are doing when I drop a catch or go for a low score. I do exactly the same thing without realising when I watch other sports. Just acceptance,” he said.
The England white-ball skipper says he always wanted to be an all-format cricketer, and not being able to perform in Test cricket is something that still bothers him.
“My strengths have always been being better ODI and T20 player. I was desperate to become an all-format player and a very successful Test cricketer. I played a lot of Test cricket in the end but never quite performed to a level quite consistently that I felt I could have achieved, and that will always be a frustration. I always want to be one of the best players in the world,” he said.
Buttler, who captained England to their second ICC T20 World Cup win last year, named South African Jonty Rhodes and Australian legends Adam Gilchrist and Steve Waugh as being his inspiration in his early days.
“Jonty Rhodes was an early inspiration for me. I did not always keep wickets, I used to love fielding. The 1999 World Cup was in England, so I have very clear memories of going and watching some of those games. Adam Gilchrist was another, a wicketkeeper-batsman, he changed the mode of keeper-batsman. I was really excited to watch (him). Steve Waugh, because Australia were so dominant that time when he was the captain,” said the 32-year-old Buttler.
Buttler said watching the support that Indian cricketers get even while playing away series was an eye-opener.
“It is like nothing else, the way Indian players are adored and supported, the level of fame is incredible. Only thing that (I) can link it to is football in England. It is fascinating watching how they deal with it, the media scrutiny. It is a privilege as well. Learned from the IPL how best players deal with, in a good way, with the chaos around.”
PTI

Press Trust of India