Jos Buttler (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra) Jos Buttler says the Indian Premier League had the biggest impact on his career as the lessons and interactions from the tournament helped him play for the England cricket team across formats.Now with Gujarat Titans, Buttler highlighted how access to elite players and coaches has sharpened his game, pointing to interactions with Rahul Dravid and Matthew Hayden as key influences, particularly against spin.
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IPL 2026: Shubman Gill hits back at critics – ‘I don’t need to prove my worth’ “Absolutely. Like I said, the IPL has been the biggest influence on my career. The lessons I learned during the IPL seasons, the interactions I had and the people I worked with as coaches and players were all invaluable,” he said during a media interaction.“Some of those conversations helped me playing for England in Test cricket, T20 cricket and 50-over cricket. It had a huge impact.”“As Kevin (Pietersen) said in his interview on my podcast, the opportunity to build a relationship with Rahul Dravid and work on playing spin creates chances that would otherwise be very limited.“Even now, after a couple of days here, when I spoke to Matthew Hayden about batting – otherwise I probably wouldn’t have got the opportunity. So it had the same impact on me as it did on KP,” Buttler said.Buttler has scored 4,120 runs in 121 IPL matches at an average of 40 and a strike rate of 149.38, including seven centuries. He was in great touch in IPL 2025, making 538 runs in 13 innings at 59.8 and a strike rate of 163, forming a strong top order with Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan.GT, the 2022 champions, will open IPL 2026 against Punjab Kings on March 31 at New Chandigarh.Despite a lean ICC Men’s T20 World Cup campaign where he scored 87 runs in eight innings, Buttler said his mindset remains unchanged.“It’s no more or less important than any other IPL. Regardless of what happened before, I’m looking forward to the season, I want to contribute and play well.”“The challenge is the same – prepare well, get yourself in a good position and give yourself the best chance to perform. Whether you’re in shape or out of shape, you need the energy to keep trying, preparing and going for it.”“I come into every IPL excited, I want to do well for the team. I just try to assess the situation and do what is required on the day,” he said.Admitting there was no single reason for his World Cup appearances, Buttler said the time away from the game helped him reset.“There’s a small circle of people I turn to for advice, what they see. I tried a lot during the World Cup, but it just didn’t work out for a lot of reasons.”“You have to accept it. It’s a game with elements you can’t control and everyone is trying to perform.”“At 35, I had 15 years of highs and lows. You think and analyze, but there is no secret. If there was, everyone would score every time.”“I enjoyed some time away, I thought a bit and the challenge remains the same – bring energy to training, prepare well and then start from scratch on match day,” he explained.Buttler also praised uncapped pacer Ashok Sharma, who he faced in the nets during his time with Rajasthan Royals.“He’s not just about pace. He has accuracy, a very good slower ball and a lot of heart – qualities that any fast bowler needs. He has all the attributes to be an exciting prospect.”
