With all the major cricketing events coming to a halt amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many players have got a breather from their busy schedule. In the meantime, the sports stars have become more active on social media in order to interact with their fans. Recently, England’s swashbuckling wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler went live on Instagram through Rajashthan Royals’ account and talked to his fans. During the course of the session, the star player heaped praises on Indian opener Rohit Sharma for his ability to take the bowlers down effortlessly. Jos Buttler Recalls How ‘Idol’ AB De Villiers Once Mistook Him for a Cricketer From New Zealand.

“Rohit Sharma I think is an awesome player,” said the 29-year old cricketer on Instagram. “Effortless. Quite a lot of Indian players have that awesome style,” he added. Buttler and Sharma have been a vital cog in their respective national sides from quite a while and have played a lot of match against each other. In fact, the two stars shared the Mumbai Indians’ dressing room during the 2017 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Buttler also hailed the Indian vice-captain’s tendency to piled up big scores while talking about his five centuries in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. “One of the things I have seen with Rohit is that if he gets in, he scores big runs and really affects the game. He must have scored 4-5 hundreds in the World Cup last year,” he said.

Further in the session, the 2019 World Cup-winner said that there was a time when opposition bowlers used to attack Indian batsmen with short-pitch deliveries. However, that’s not the case now as Rohit plays the pull shot to perfection. “The effortless nature in which he can take players down; he is a really good player with the short ball as well. It’s not really the case now, but I think a few years ago people used to attack Indian players with the short ball but Rohit smashes them. Then you go fuller and he smashes them right down the ground,” said Buttler.

Both Rohit and Buttler will be next seen in action with the start of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. However, the fate of the tournament is under dark clouds and with the lockdown in India getting extended, the gala T20 tournament is on the verge of cancellation.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 15, 2020 10:37 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).