Jos Buttler has met up with his Rajasthan Royals teammates ahead of the 2023 IPL season.
The Lancashire gloveman will be hoping his side can go one better than their runners-up place last year.
Rajasthan lost out to Gujarat Titans in the 2022 final after also finishing second in the group stage.
Buttler will be joined in the squad by England teammate Joe Root, who was bought for 1 crore in the 2023 auction.
Buttler will be hoping to build on his form from the last campaign, amassing 863 runs at an average of 57.53.
He hit four centuries and only Virat Kohli has scored more runs in any season of the IPL.
Despite leading England to a recent ODI series win in Bangladesh, Buttler’s England succumbed to a 3-0 defeat in the T20s.
Nevertheless, the former Somerset man was in good touch with the bat and will feel confident in his game heading to India.
Regarded as the best white ball keeper-batsman in the world, Buttler has become a mainstay of the IPL.
After first appearing for the Mumbai Indians in 2016, he has been an ever-present for Rajasthan since he joined them two years later.
His IPL record is formidable with him scoring 2831 runs across 82 matches.
Those runs have come at an average of nearly 40 and an impressive strike rate of close to 150.
Captained by Sanju Samson, the Royals will go in search of their first IPL crown since the very first edition in 2008.
They possess a strong mix of homegrown talent and a sprinkling of overseas stars.
The spin twins of Ravi Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal will play important roles with the ball.
In terms of the batting, much rests on Buttler’s shoulders but in the likes of Samson, Root and Shimron Hetmyer, there is enough firepower to take them a long way.
Rajasthan are among the favourites and will hope for more Buttler pyrotechnics to guide them to success.
(Images from Photo permission from Lancashire CCC)
The wait is over… 💗 pic.twitter.com/2gSPS0yeUX
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) March 28, 2023
