Jos Buttler, who plays for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL), lavished praise on his previous franchise Mumbai Indians during a BBC Podcast 'The Doosra'. The explosive England batsman likened the Mumbai-based franchise to the giants of English Premier League Manchester United. According to Buttler, Mumbai Indians' fan following is similar to Manchester United. "I loved my time with Mumbai as well and I've loved Rajasthan equally as much, two different franchises. Mumbai Indians are sort of the Manchester United of the IPL, such a massive team with such a massive following," Jos Buttler said during the podcast.
The 29-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman said that the IPL is the best tournament in the world barring World Cups.
"It (IPL) has helped English cricket. IPL is always something that I was desperate to play. For me, it is the best tournament in the world. I know World Cups are different, you take that out," Buttler added.
Buttler thanked former England batsman Kevin Pietersen, who according to him paved the way for a lot of England cricketers to participate in the lucrative league.
"The roadblocks that he (Pietersen) faced, I think he really did sort of paved the way for a lot of us to go and now play in the IPL with more blessing than there used to be from English cricket," Buttler said.
Buttler, who played his first IPL game in 2016 for the Mumbai Indians, has featured in 45 matches in the tournament and has scored 1,386 runs at an impressive strike of over 150.
Buttler was slated to travel to India for the 13th edition of the IPL but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Board of Control for Cricket in India postponed the cash-rich league indefinitely.