Jos Buttler is all set to play his 1st IPL season for Mumbai Indians and notably, this also marks his debut year in the Indian Premier League! Mumbaiindians.com caught up with England’s wicket-keeper batsman to find out how it feels to be a part of the MI squad.

Excerpts

How does it feels to join the reigning IPL champions?

Yes it’s extremely exciting to be joining up with Mumbai Indians, my 1st taste of 
IPL. I’ve watched it from afar for a few seasons & everybody said to be a part of it 
& it’s great to have my 1st training session with everyone. I know the Wankhede Stadium pretty well from my two ICC World Twenty20 games that I’ve played here. We had some exciting games in the tournament & and there’ll be some exciting games during the IPL so looking forward to be a part of it.

Since this is your 1st IPL, what’s your goal for this season?

[My] goal is to perform. Obviously, there are some fantastic overseas players in the squad already so it’s a settled one. So I’ll try & force my way into the team. Whenever I’ve played for anyone, I try to win games for them so it’ll be no different when I’m playing for Mumbai & be a match-winner for the team. When the team needs me to stand up and be counted, I’ll do my job for the team.

How would you describe yourself as a batsman?

For me, I’m explosive with the bat. I try to be a match-winner with the bat so I will try & take that responsibility with the bat, whether you are in the middle or the end of the innings, you require someone to bat there or whether you’re setting a total or chasing what a target that we’ve got. There’s such a great atmosphere around this team & what an opportunity for me to be working with Ricky Ponting as the coach & work around with every member of the team, so you’ve to sort of pinch yourself really. This is a fantastic opportunity so I’m delighted to be here and will really throw myself into [my] 1st season of the IPL!

Do you have any special message for the fans & what are your expectations from the Wankhede crowd?

Yes, playing a couple of ICC World Twenty20 games you get a sense of what it’s like & I know the IPL is going to be another level so really excited to see the home fans cheer for everyone & they’ll think for me as well so I’ll try to win some games for them & I look forward to play in the loudest stadium I’ve ever played so it’ll be an awesome experience.

You were part of the most epic T20 chase against South Africa, so do you prefer batting 1st or chasing at the Wankhede?

I’m used to batting 1st but with the games that I’ve played here, especially the 230 that we chased down, so once you get in as a batsman, you get onto the role and start, you might not know what is a good score to send in the team batting second so whatever you do, it seems to be a good score on the board.

Talking about your adaptability, how do you find the sub-continental conditions & what’s your preparation or trick to adapt to them?

Nothing massively, I talk to the guys in the dressing room who’ve played here and know the conditions well, so I speak to them & the coaching staff. In the end you’ve got to adapt yourself to whatever situation comes up, I need to work it out myself and find my own methods to get through that.

Is there any trademark Jos Buttler shot?

Sometimes I like to go after the seamers try and play one over the wicket-keeper and sometimes straight down the ground, so yeah the straight drive & behind the wicket as well.