Jos Buttler - England - WK-Batsman

A hard-hitting batsman and a wicket-keeper, Jos Buttler quickly built up a reputation for demolishing bowling attacks. His introduction to competitive cricket came at an early age and he represented Somerset's youth teams at the Under-13, Under-15 and Under-17 levels. He was a prolific run-scorer in school and junior cricket, and his consistent batting helped him come through the ranks quickly. He soon represented Somerset's second XI and was seen as a good prospect for the shorter formats.

His First-Class debut came in the 2009 season when he replaced the injured Justin Langer. Though he failed to seal his spot in the First-Class side, his performances in the other formats earned him a call-up to the Somerset limited overs squad. With regular wicket-keeper-batsman Craig Kieswetter selected to play for England, Buttler got an extended run in the Somerset team and he made the most of it, where he scored 440 runs at an average of 55 in the CB40 series. His terrific form and ability saw him retain his spot in the eleven even after the return of Kieswetter to the Somerset line-up.

Buttler then, was named as Young Wisden School Cricketer of the Year in 2010. In 2011, Buttler was selected in the T20 squad to face India and West Indies at home. He did not get to bat in his first two games and managed only 13 runs when he got his chance in the second match against West Indies.

After a successful tour against Sri Lanka for the England Lions in early 2012, Buttler made his ODI debut against Pakistan in the UAE. He then replaced Kieswetter as England's limited-overs wicket-keeper and hit his first international fifty against New Zealand in a T20I. He also played a crucial role in England's Champions Trophy campaign in 2013. He continued performing well in the ODI series against Australia, both at home and Down Under. In 2013, he made the move to Lancashire and scored his first hundred for the county in June 2014.

Buttler played a key role in England's tour to West Indies, scoring an aggressive 99 in the third ODI, which helped England post a mammoth total and secure a series win. He continued his rich vein of form in the T20s, however, England lost the series. He was also part of England's World T20 campaign in Bangladesh. The wicket-keeper batsman grew in stature ever since he was given a consistent run by the selectors. In the ODI series against Sri Lanka at home, Buttler scored his maiden ODI ton off just 61 balls, it is the fastest hundred by an England batsman. When Matt Prior stepped down from the Test side after the loss to India at Lord's, Buttler was drafted in and handed a debut in Southampton. He scored 85 in his very first Test.

Like England, Buttler had a rather modest time during the 2015 World Cup, his only score of significance coming against Bangladesh - in a match that England shockingly lost and were dumped out of the tournament even before the quarter-final stage. Buttler since became a vital cog in England's One Day plans, consistently scoring runs at a good pace. His runs came at a brisk pace and England suddenly became the team to beat in the shorter formats of the game. Quick with his hands and an ability to find gaps in the field, Buttler's multidimensional batting won him a massive contract with the Mumbai Indians - before the 2016 Indian Premier League auctions. While his run was smooth in the shorter formats of the game, Buttler seemed to have regressed in Tests. He didn't feature in whites for England until the very end of 2016 when his ability to play spin won him a place in the England squad for the Tests in Bangladesh and India. Buttler’s first taste of English captaincy came in the limited overs leg of the Bangladesh tour after several senior members, including regular skipper Eoin Morgan, refused to tour citing security concerns.

Buttler got his chance in whites during the India leg and promptly responded with a fine 76. Post his Test debut, though, Buttler didn’t quite manage to seal a place for himself in red-ball cricket, although he continued to be a part of the squad, playing as a specialist batsman.

After a few sensational years, 2017 was a rather middling one for Buttler. Runs didn't quite flow for him although there were a lot of times when the situation demanded instant hitting. That didn't quite come off consistently for him in the year. In 2018, Buttler’s performance was instrumental in England’s whitewash over Australia in an ODI series. In the 3-match series, Buttler scored two fifties and a dramatic hundred in the third game, coming in at 27-4 to rescue England to a respectable position and take them through to a winning total.

It was Buttler’s wicket that triggered the collapse against Bangladesh in the 2015 World Cup which eventually led to England’s embarrassing exit from the competition. His valiant half-century against the Asian side went in vain as England lost their last four wickets for just 22 runs. Before his 65 against Bangladesh, Buttler also played a cameo - 19-ball 39 - against Sri Lanka, but was another knock that came in a losing knock. The wicket-keeper batsman was under-used and England failed to enter the knockout stages.

When Jos Buttler smashed England’s second fastest ODI century (Buttler holds the record for England’s fastest too) just a few weeks before the 2019 World Cup against Pakistan, former England captain Nasser Hussain put Buttler in the same category as that of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni and Viv Richards. It was by no means an exaggeration. A phenomenal talent, Buttler can single-handedly win matches for his team and he can put even the best bowling attacks under pressure - courtesy his 360 degrees hitting.

Part of England’s historic World Cup winning squad in 2019, Buttler made crucial contributions throughout the competition. Buttler wasn't the enforcer, he was more of a finisher. His numbers weren't great, 312 runs at an average of 34. 67, but his strike-rate, close to 123 per 100 balls, was evident. Buttler's knocks at the end of the innings had bearings towards the end result - a superb World Cup title triumph.

In the first series post the pandemic in 2020, Buttler scored a standout 152 in the final Test against the West Indies but was criticized for his glovework after dropping several chances. In the 2021 World T20, Buttler scored an unbeaten 101 against Sri Lanka to become the first English batter to score a hundred in all formats. Later the next year, in a game against the Netherlands where England scored a historic 498, Buttler contributed an unbeaten 162 off just 70 deliveries. That series turned out to be Eoin Morgan’s last in ODI cricket and Buttler was handed the white-ball reins. Later in 2022, Buttler captained England to victory in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. His contributions with the bat were vital and he was praised for his astute captaincy.

Despite being one of the most explosive batsmen in world cricket, Jos Buttler had to wait for an IPL debut, primarily due to the curfew that was imposed on English cricketers for participation. Once that was lifted from the 2016 season onwards, Buttler obviously fetched a good price as he got picked by the Mumbai Indians. He juggled between the opener slot and a middle order position, getting a few starts without really making it big. The 2017 season was also more of the same for Buttler as he was used as a floater by the MI franchise. It was evident that the tournament hadn’t seen the best of him, like international cricket had been seeing for a while now.

The move to Rajasthan Royals in the 2018 auctions sparked a fresh lease of life for Buttler who however, started as a middle order batsman for the franchise, like his MI days. With the surfaces of Jaipur not as conducive as the ones in Mumbai, the struggles against the older ball was profound for Buttler. It was an enigma, considering that it’s the position he bats for while representing England. A late move in the season to promote Buttler as an opener produced immediate results, as he smashed five consecutive fifties to propel the Royals into the playoffs. Since then, he primarily batted as an opener in T20 cricket and excelled in the BBL too for the Sydney Thunder.

The 2019 season saw Buttler scoring three half-centuries for the Royals in eight innings before heading back home - to prepare for the World Cup. Buttler, unfortunately, didn’t get the necessary support from the other batsmen and hence his performances went in vain and Rajasthan had a mediocre season. After being pushed back into the middle-order in 2020 to aid team balance, Buttler had mediocre returns and things didn’t change too much in 2021 either as he started off batting at 4. The following season, however, Buttler produced mind-boggling figures. Pushed back up the order, Buttler scored four centuries that season, equalling Virat Kohli’s record, on-route to 863-runs - the second highest tally in an IPL season. He won the Orange Cap and also the Most Valuable Player award in a season where the Royals faltered at the final hurdle to the Gujarat Titans.

Jos Buttler will be leading England in World Cup 2023 and given his experience of playing in IPL, the skipper will be looking forward to making an impact for the defending champions. He has the ability to mix caution and aggression and England will be expecting Buttler to fire and be at his best in order to defend their World Cup title. The flamboyant batter loves to bat in Indian conditions and opposition bowlers need to be wary of his exploits in the tournament.