England's wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler gave the perfect parting gift to budding Rajasthan Royals (RR) cricketer Anuj Rawat. Buttler, on Wednesday, returned home after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the indefinite suspension of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to safeguard the wellbeing of all the players and stakeholders involved. Prior to his departure to England, Buttler gave Rawat an autographed pair of wicket-keeping gloves that he used during the tournament. Buttler also signed Rawat's cap.
RR shared the beautiful moment on Twitter and captioned it, "Something to keep, from one explosive keeper-batter to another."
Anuj hails from Uttarakhand and made his IPL debut on May 2 against SunRisers Hyderabad in Delhi. Rajasthan Royals had bought Rawat for Rs 80 lakh ahead of IPL 2020 and he was retained for the 2021 edition.
However, he did not get a chance to bat or keep the wicket in his first IPL match, which Rajasthan won by 55 runs, courtesy a brilliant century from Buttler. In the match, Buttler scored 124 runs off 64 balls with the help of 11 fours and eight huge sixes as Rajasthan posted a mammoth total of 220 runs in front of SRH.
In reply, Hyderabad managed to score 168 runs for the loss of eight wickets in their quota of 20 overs.
After returning home, Buttler also posted a heartfelt Tweet for India on the micro-blogging site from his official handle.
"India is a special country going through a very difficult time. Thank you for welcoming me and my family like you always do. Please stay safe and look after yourselves," Buttler wrote along with a few photos.
Buttler represented Rajasthan in seven games in IPL 2021 and scored 254 runs at an average of 36.28.