By Sahil Kohli

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], April 4 (ANI): Gujarat Titans (GT) and England wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler on Friday opened up on being freed of baggage of recent poor outings for England as a captain during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), saying that playing without leadership burdens has freed up a lot of his energy and time and allowed him to truly enjoy and focus on his game.

Buttler was speaking to ANI in an exclusive interview. After resigning as England's white-ball captain following a failed T20 World Cup title defence last year (finishing in semifinals after loss to India) and a winless Champions Trophy campaign this year, Buttler has found freedom and relief in GT colours, where he can exhibit his elite shotmaking without the burdens of captaincy.

In three matches so far, Buttler has made 166 runs at an average of 83.00 and a strike rate of over 172, with two half-centuries and best score of 73* against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He is the third-highest run-getter so far and was signed by the 2022 champions last year at mega auction for Rs 15.75 crores following seven extremely productive seasons with the bat as a part of Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Speaking to ANI about being freed from mental baggage of recent unremarkable outings in England colours as a captain and player, Buttler said, 'Yeah, if anything, I felt very freed from all the baggage of the stress of being captain and the results that we were having. You know, the disappointing performances, any time as a captain when you are not getting the best out of your team and you are not performing well, it can be disappointing and weighs heavy on you as a leader.'

'So, you know, having given up the captaincy, it has freed up a lot of energy and time in my own head. So, I can just focus on my batting and my wicket keeping and, you know, settling into a new team and stuff like that. And also, you know, the stuff I enjoy away from the game, right? That is important to do that stuff, to be in a healthy headspace. And when I am in that place and I think I can perform well, as I have showed in the first few games,' he added.

Buttler is really enjoying his team with the new franchise and feels welcomed. He also hailed the leadership group consisting of team's director of cricket Vikram Solanki, head coach Ashish Nehra and skipper Shubman for create and 'nice, comfortable and content' atmosphere for the team.

'I think that's sort of given me a nice platform to start the season. And yeah, I am feeling good and managed to score some runs and contribute to the wins, which is great,' he added.

Speaking about Shubman, Buttler was all praises about his leadership and called the young Indian opener a 'superstar'.

'I have played against Shubman a bit. Do not know him too well personally. But obviously, now getting to know him is great. Such an impressive guy. Obviously, he is a fantastic player. He is going to be an absolute superstar, even though he already is. And yeah, I think it is one of the best things about the IPL, right? I get to now be in a team with him and watch him practice, see him train. It is always such a pleasure to watch guys up close and the way they go about their work. And he is a very impressive guy. He's leading the team brilliantly well. So, yeah, it's been a great experience,' he said.

The English veteran also 'blown away' by Sudharshan, Gill's opening partner. So far in three matches, he has made 186 runs at an average of 62.00 and a strike rate of over 157, with two half-centuries. He is the team's leading run-getter and overall second.

'He (Sudharsan) is performing amazingly well. Now, I obviously knew he was a good player. But like I said, when you get to see guys up close, watch them practice, watch them prepare, watch him from the other end in partnership, you sort of, you know, you get a different view. And I have been blown away by what an amazing player he is. He is a great kid as well. I think he is got a great attitude, great way about himself. And I say he has been ultra-consistent, which in this format is very, very impressive. So, he has got a massive future ahead of him,' he said.

Buttler rated India's batting bench strength as 'the world's best' and finds it 'frightening'.

'I do not think anyone in the world game has as much depth as Indian cricket has. That may be natural with a population of one and a half billion or whatever it is. And a cricket-loving country. So, you are going to produce some good players. But, yeah, the strength and depth is frightening, really. And obviously the competition for places pushes guys on and on to improve. You know, you can only play 11 players in your national team. So, all the guys are working so hard and training so hard and putting in performances to be there, which is obviously developing quite incredible strength and depth,' he added.

The wicketkeeper-batter, who rattled RCB with his relentless hitting, also hailed pacer Mohammed Siraj, who has found success so far in GT colours after switching from Red and Gold colours. He hailed Siraj for his 'heart and passion' while bowling.

'Yeah, he has been brilliant, has not he? Obviously, the other night at Chinnaswamy, he was outstanding, set the tone brilliantly well. Did he have a wicket-keeper that would catch? He would have a wicket in his first over as well. But yeah, I think he has been a really consistent performer. He has got a great skill set. Bowls with a lot of heart and passion. And yeah, he is going to be a vital spearhead for us as the tournament goes on. And he is part of a fantastic bowling attack, I believe, with the other seam options and spin options that we have,' he added.

So far, Siraj has taken five wickets in three games at an average of 21.40 for GT, with best figures of 3/19 against RCB coming at his former home stadium, M Chinnaswammy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Buttler also extended his backing to team's lead spinner Rashid Khan, who has been facing a rough patch in the tournament so far, with just one wicket in three matches at an average of 112 and economy rate of 11.20, saying that the Afghanistan superstar is not somone team 'needs to ever worry about'.

'Over his career, he barely ever has a bad match. He has been the best T20 bowler in the world for so long. Obviously, people have to try something against him because he has had so much success. They are taking risks which will bring him into the game even more. He is never someone that we need to ever worry about,' he concluded.

GT will next play Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Hyderabad on April 6. With two wins and a loss so far, GT is at the fourth spot in the points table. (ANI)