Last Updated on 9 months ago by Charbel Coorey
We are certainly missing the crowds, especially at the IPL: Jos Buttler | Jos Buttler says that he misses the atmosphere that the Indian fans provide
The Indian Premier League started off in the month of September due to the outbreak of Covid-19. Apart from the time period and location, there has been a bunch of changes that has formulated the new way of playing cricket. Right from following the bio-secure bubble to the restricted movement to no spectator at the venue, this year’s IPL is all new. Jos Buttler, who played in England’s home season, is well aware of the Covid-19 protocols that the players have to follow. Still, he misses the buzz that Indian viewers create during the match.
“We are certainly missing the crowds, especially at the IPL, where one thing you really associate with it is the noise and the crowd. So that’s taking a bit of getting used to for some of the players,” said Buttler.
The IPL committee reviewed all the sporting events happened post Covid-19 to plan the 13th edition of the league and give the audience watching in their televisions a power-packed full house experience, even though the players are playing in a quieter atmosphere. Buttler praised those efforts but also mentioned that it’s very different to play without the buzz that fans create in the stadiums in India during the tournament.
The Rajasthan Royals wicketkeeper-batsman says that his tournament experience in England was way different from what IPL is offering. In England all the players had to stay in hotel facilities available on the ground premises in Southampton and Manchester.
“In my opinion it’s nicer here [UAE] that we’re away from the ground. We don’t wake up and have a view of the cricket ground so it’s a bit easier to get away from the cricket. It’s great. I’ve managed to have my family with me here as well which is really nice, and the hotel is great. We’re being really well looked after, we’ve got a beach we can use, and we can use the pool at certain times, and the tennis court and stuff, so the two bubbles are a little bit different. The fact that we’re not staying at the ground makes it feel a little bit more normal as well,” he said.
Buttler also pointed out an interesting point about how the Indian crowds used to turn every ball into an event along with the fear factor that comes from playing against the ‘giants of the game’. “Every ball is such a massive event, so you just lose the reaction. The cricket is the same but you lose that reaction to an amazing shot or a wicket, or even when the ball goes into the outfield, it creates a massive amount of volume. So that’s certainly different and I wonder, over time, if the pressure is a little bit different. You think of playing against Dhoni or Kohli as they stride to the wicket and the crowd is going crazy”, he added.
Written by Anjali Jha. Follow Anjali on Twitter today.
