Jos Buttler reveals how Mumbai Indians coach saved his career

Jos Buttler, who is currently plying his trade for the Gujarat Titans in the ongoing IPL 2025, is now widely seen as one of the finest openers the game has ever seen in the white-ball game. But there is a long story behind this success, and its credit goes to the Mumbai Indians.

Actually, Jos Buttler began his career as a middle-order batter in T20 cricket, and he was very often seen as a finisher. But the IPL 2017 season changed everything, thanks to the Mumbai Indians and its head coach, Mahela Jayawardene. The Sri Lankan legend was just appointed the head coach, and he led the franchise to the IPL title that year.

Jos Buttler reveals how Mumbai Indians changed his career forever

Well, it was the second IPL season for the Englishman, and he finally got a consistent run as an opener in the MI. That move opened up a new chapter in his career, helping Buttler master the art of powerplay batting and showcase his full range of strokes from the very start of an innings.

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This opportunity given by the MI and Mahela Jayawardene has not only transformed Buttler’s IPL career but also played a huge role in shaping him into a world-class opener in white-ball cricket. The decision to promote him to the top paid off massively, as Buttler has gone on to dominate bowling attacks across the globe and become one of the game-changers in the format.

I owe a huge debt to Mahela Jayawardene: Jos Buttler

Jos Buttler was quoted as saying by Times of India, “I've really enjoyed batting all up and down the order. In the first half of my career, I was very much a middle-order player or finisher. Actually, I owe a huge debt to Mahela Jayawardene for giving me the chance to open in T20 cricket. I had to learn how to play the power play. But once I got through the power play, it felt like I was just batting as I used to anyway.”

The England batter admitted that he enjoys being an opener because it lets him play in two different ways. He likes starting strong during the power play and then shifting gears to play freely after that. He added, “So yeah, it's nice to be able to marry the two styles. Obviously, if you can get through the power play and then play freely, you can really impact the game.”

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Jos Buttler says playing at No.3 for Gujarat Titans is a new role

However, Jos Buttler is batting at number three for the Gujarat Titans, and he admitted that this is a new role for him in the ongoing IPL 2025, but he's using his experience to adapt based on the match situation. He also observes how the openers go and adjusts his game depending on the conditions.

Buttler signed off by saying, “Playing at number three is a new role for me. I did it a bit with England in the last few months. But yeah, I'm just trying to use all my experience and look at the scoreboard and play what is required.

You know, obviously, you can see what the openers are doing and if the ball is swinging, or if it's a really good wicket, or whatever. And then, yeah, I could be in the first over, or I could be outside the powerplay. So, I just wait and see and react to how I need to play.”