"Wicketkeeping in spinning conditions is a lot of fun" - Jos Buttler
England's flamboyant gloveman Jos Buttler has opened up on the struggle and the fun of wicketkeeping on spin-favoring pitches.
Buttler pointed to the lesser carry on Indian wickets as a challenge but admitted that this allows wicketkeepers to play a bigger role in the game.
England are coming off a brutal whitewash of Sri Lanka in away conditions. Jos Buttler kept wickets in both the Tests and also scored 131 runs from three innings.
However, owing to his team's new workload-management policy, Jos Buttler will only be available for the first Test against India.
"I certainly enjoyed being in Sri Lanka and the ball turning past the bat, it's exciting. I think wicketkeeping in spinning conditions is a lot of fun," said Jos Buttler in a virtual press conference.
The 30-year-old added:
"There's some big challenges keeping wicket, the way the pitch will change and deteriorate over the five days. There's less carry for the seam bowlers than we're used to in England or Australia and South Africa. So you're standing quite close and a lot of the chances are very quick, reactive chances. And then obviously the challenge of standing up to the spinners when the ball starts to turn. Having said that, it's a great place to keep wickets as you feel that you are always in the game."
The four-Test series will kickstart on February 5th in Chennai.
Jos Buttler's batting record in India
Besides being an arduous destination for the glovemen, India also puts up a great batting challenge for the visiting batsmen.
In six Tests, Jos Buttler has made 154 runs in India at an average of 38.50. His highest score of 76 was recorded at the Wankhade stadium in the fourth Test of the 2016 series between the two teams.
Surrey's Ben Foakes is expected to replace Buttler behind the wickets for the remainder of the series.
Foakes has experience of just five Tests under his belt, from which he has scored over 300 runs including a ton and a half-century. He also has brilliant first-class numbers - 5701 runs from 111 games at an average of 38.78.