Friendships will be forgotten, says Jos Buttler ahead of Test series against India
What's the story?
As India get ready to take on England in the upcoming Test series, England's wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler opened up about the relationship between the players of both sides after the IPL.
Speaking to Cricinfo, he felt that the friendships will be kept aside when the two sides battle it out on the field.
"There are a few guys I have played with. Naturally you have friendships with them but on the field they seem to be forgotten and everyone is competitive. There are familiar faces, guys you know a bit more about than just the cricket.
That is one of the great things about world cricket now. You get these opportunities to play around the world and meet these great people. There is a lot more familiarity between the sides than there ever has been before," said Buttler.
In case you didn't know...
Jos Buttler was a part of the Rajasthan Royals franchise in this year's IPL and was their leading run-scorer with 548 runs to his name in 13 innings.
He began the tournament batting in the middle-order but was later promoted to the top of the order after a few failures. The decision to change his batting position worked wonders for the side as he single-handedly guided them to a few victories.
The details
Buttler played under Rahane in the IPL and will be looking forward to taking on him in the upcoming series.
He was a part of the squad when India toured England last time around and did score quite a few runs and will be hoping to perform better this time.
"I am sure there will be moments in the Test series, especially on the field, when those things look like they have been forgotten. It will be highly competitive. What you have to remember is people can get on well but the reason guys have got to international sport is they want to win and are competitive so it will be no different on the field. Off it maybe a little bit."
What's next?
The two sides will take on each other in the first Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham from August 1.