Buttler believes that the Rajasthan Royals lacked team balance.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) had a horrendous season after starting IPL 2020 with two wins upfront. After they moved from Sharjah, the Royals' batting-order could not get them over the line for quite a few times.
Wicket-keeper Jos Buttler had been opening for RR in the previous couple of seasons but was pushed into the middle-order this time around. The Englishman revealed that it was his idea to shift into the middle order to maintain the balance.
IPL 2020: "Haven't scored as many runs as I would like to", says RR's Jos Buttler
Buttler told Sky's IPL Cricket Show, "It actually probably came from myself saying I didn’t think our team had the right balance. I thought we were lacking a bit of experience in the middle, and I thought we were a bit top-heavy."
"[We were] losing games and it felt like there were a couple of games we didn’t quite close out when we were in good positions, and I felt like if we had had a bit more experience in that position, maybe we would have got over the line," he added.
The Royals finished the season at the last spot on the points table with 6 wins in 14 games and a negative Net Run Rate of 0.569. They had very few bright spots during the tournament, one being Rahul Tewatia.
Buttler praised the all-rounder saying, "Rahul Tewatia had a great season for us with the bat, being a bit of a finisher, but I felt like a more experienced guy alongside him would have balanced our team a bit better."
"It was an offering, really, from myself to say: I haven’t had the runs I’d have liked at the top and I’m quite happy to move. I thought for our team, it looked a better balance having a more experienced player in the middle as well," the keeper-batsman added.
(With inputs from Hindustan Times)