'Buttler hasn't taken his form for granted at all' - Knight on RR opener's consistency

It has been a season to remember for Rajasthan Royals (RR), as the Sanju Samson-led team has a great possibility of closing in on a top-four finish, winning six out of their nine matches in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

While the franchise has enjoyed an overall contribution from all of their bowlers, it has been Jos Buttler with the bat who single-handedly has won matches for the side on his own. The Englishman is ruling the run-scoring charts and is the top contender to win the orange cap this year, having already scored mammoth 566 runs at an average of 70.75 so far in the season.

Former England cricketer Nick Knight opened up on Buttler's consistency, adding that the wicketkeeper-batter has made use of every bit of his splendid form in IPL 2022. The 31-year-old's approach to starting afresh in every game has impressed Knight.

"What impressed me hugely about Jos Buttler is the way he's started every innings. I mean, if we look at the outcome of his innings, mostly it's either the 50s or 100s; he's in a different gear. (But) He tends to forget what he did in the previous game and starts afresh. (He) Hasn't taken his form for granted at all. He's giving himself a few balls to get in and then play those big shots," Knight said as quoted to Star Sports.

With the Royals batting line-up heavily dominated by Buttler, former England spinner Graeme Swann has advised the team's other batters to start contributing. He reckoned that RR have played in batting-friendly wickets so far, but as the tracks will slow down, they might start losing now.

"The worrying thing from Rajasthan Royals' point of view, if there is something they need to worry about, is that at the back end of the tournament, the wickets are going to slow down, where it will start skidding more. Up until now, they've played on some brilliant batting tracks, and the RR batting has been so good that they've won every game," Swann asserted.

"They've been too far ahead of every team. But with the wickets turning and getting slow (as the tournament progresses), it may distract them going forward, and they might lose some close games. So they'll have to find a way because it cannot always be smash, smash, smash, and they can't heavily rely on Buttler. They need to find a way in the middle overs to score those 10-20 runs extra even in low-scoring games," he concluded.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals will go head-to-head against Kolkata Knight Riders on May 2 at the Wankhede Stadium.