MS Dhoni is a big idol, great lesson to watch him play – Jos Buttler

England’s wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler stated former Indian skipper MS Dhoni is a big idol for him and there are great lessons to watch him play. Dhoni has set the benchmark of the wicket-keeper batsman so high in International cricket that it is not easy to emulate him. Buttler has also done a fine job for England and the combative right-hander has shown the skills to hit the ground running.

Meanwhile, Jos Buttler believes Dhoni is always under the scrutiny but he manages to keep all the white noise at bay. Dhoni has always focussed on his game and he has been able to reap fruits for his hard work. The former skipper also led from the front and it was decisions in the crunch situations of the match that stood out.

Dhoni is known to wear a calm head on his shoulders, which helped him in taking the right decisions at the right time. As former legendary Australian captain Richie Benaud said that a good captain must be ahead of the opposition by two overs, Dhoni was able to successfully do that.

Buttler added that there were great lessons to learn to see how Dhoni goes about his business, quietly but effectively.

“MS Dhoni has always been a big idol of mine and chaos is always going around him, people wanting a bit of him, the cricket and the noise.

“It is such a great lesson to just watch him and see first hand how to manage all that thing if you have to perform at the top level and perform in those crunch moment, that certainly has been one of the massive pluses,” Buttler said in an interview to Lancashire Cricket with Warren Hegg.

On the other hand, Buttler added that there are a lot of advantages while playing in India. As there is a jam-packed crowd, Buttler feels the players learn how to handle the pressure. Furthermore, every foreign player knows he has to be on his toes otherwise his place in the side can be under jeopardy.

“It was one of pressures you have to learn, especially in India, as an oversees players, you are one of the four in the team and you know the other four who are not playing are also world-class players. So you are under pressure to perform,” he said.

“So that’s been a great learning curve. One of the things I came out with from the first IPL is to just learn to deal with the chaos.”

Buttler has gained a lot while playing in the Indian conditions and the same is palpable when he plays for England. The pugnacious right-hander has scored 1386 runs in 45 IPL matches at an impressive average of 35.54 and a blistering strike rate of 150.82.

Written by: Gautam Chauhan