England wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler revealed an interesting chat he had with Virat Kohli during IPL 2023, which left him stunned after the Indian great admitted to having insecurities about his batting.Speaking on For the Love of Cricket, his new podcast with Stuart Broad, Buttler said Kohli’s advice helped him tackle the burden of expectations.“In IPL 2022, I scored 863 runs. But Virat has got the record for most runs (973) in a season, which is phenomenal. I actually found the next season quite difficult — like, how do I live up to that? And we were training at the same time as RCB,” he said.
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What do you admire most about Virat Kohli?
“I thought I’d just ask him a couple of questions. He had just finished his batting. The question was on how he manages expectations. There is more expectation on him than anyone in the world in cricket — like, one and a half billion people want him to score all the time.“He was so generous with his time. He was so helpful. He said maybe that one season was the best I will ever have. I need to accept that and not try to replicate it. I’m putting unnecessary pressure on myself. It’s okay. Life is going to be fine. It’s going to work out,” he added.“He then started talking about the insecurities he sometimes has about his own game. He said, ‘Sometimes I pick up my bat and I feel like I don’t know how to play.’“I was like — this guy is arguably the best player of our generation, especially in the white-ball format. I was so thankful for his time and grateful for his insights.“That’s why I always say IPL is the best cricket academy in the world. You pick the brains of the legends. It helps you for the next six to twelve months,” he said.
