Joe Root, England’s Test captain, and Jos Buttler have signed up for Sydney Thunder in the next season of the Australian Big Bash League.
While Buttler is an established Twenty20 star, with appearances in many leagues across the world, this will be Root’s first taste of action in a T20 league outside England.
Both of them will turn out for Thunder for a part of the upcoming eighth season of the BBL, but won’t be able to see their team’s campaign through, as they have to report for national duty in early 2019 for the multi-format tour of the Caribbean.
Root has played 28 T20 Internationals for England and 61 T20s overall, and has a good average of 35.77 and 32.27 in the two formats respectively. His strike rate in T20s is 127.69 and in T20Is, it’s 128.59, but he’s always been thought of as more of a long-format batsman.
The 27-year-old Root did put his name in the mix for the Indian Premier League 2018, but found no takers, and also had a bit of a lean run in T20Is earlier this year before being dropped from the XI for the final match against India.
“I want to gain as much experience as possible in T20 cricket. It’s one of those tournaments where you want to be involved in it and I’m really excited to get that opportunity now with Sydney,” said Root.
“I’m sure there will be some mixed emotions for the fans, but … hopefully I can win them over through the time there. There’s an opportunity for myself now to put in some strong performances and help Sydney Thunder go on and do some special things this year.”
Buttler, meanwhile, is a popular T20 player. Apart from in England, he has played in leagues in India, Bangladesh and Australia, where he has turned out for Melbourne Renegades and the Thunder in the past.
He was hot property for Thunder last season too, scoring 202 runs in six appearances, with two half-centuries, as he hit his runs at a strike rate of 143.26. Over the years, he has played 232 T20 fixtures, smashing 5099 runs at an average of 29.99 and a strike rate of 144.65.
The wicket-keeper batsman is one of England’s mainstays in the format, having scored 1247 runs in 65 games at an average of 27.10 and strike rate of 137.79.
Buttler was, interestingly, playing a starring role in Rajasthan Royals’ campaign at IPL 2018 when he got a surprise call-up to England’s Test squad, a chance he has grabbed with both hands.
“I loved my time there, there’s a great atmosphere in the group. There’s a lot of young guys but some experience in there as well, including Shane Watson, who I really got to enjoy getting to know and playing under his captaincy,” said Buttler.
