IPL 2023: Jos Buttler is the No.1 batter in world at the moment: Harbhajan Singh

India’s former spinner Harbhajan Singh has tipped Jos Buttler as the No.1 batter in the world at the moment. Buttler scored a crucial knock of 52 runs from 36 balls against Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Wednesday to continue his good form.

Buttler added 77 runs with Devdutt Padikkal and then added 47 runs with Ravichandran Ashwin. The right-hander also became the first player in the IPL history to have an average of more than 40 and a strike rate of more than 150.

Buttler also became the third fastest to reach the milestone of 3000 IPL runs, getting there in 85 innings after Chris Gayle (75 innings) and KL Rahul (80 innings). Moreover, he became the first English batter to reach the 3000-run mark in the IPL.

Buttler has been in top form in the ongoing IPL 2023 as he has amassed 204 runs in four innings at an average of 51 and a strike rate of 170.

“I fell short of words to praise Jos Buttler. He is a proper batter of the cricket ball,” Harbhajan said on Star Sports.

“He uses the crease to perfection, possesses good technique, and he has good footwork against pace and spin. For me, he’s the No. 1 batter in world cricket at the moment.”

On the other hand, Sandeep Sharma held his nerves towards the business end of the game. Sharma defended 21 runs in the final over against MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja.

Sandeep said after the game, “I wanted to deliver yorkers in the last over. I was bowling good yorkers in the nets. The leg-side was big, but I missed my mark and bowled a couple of low full-tosses and both went for sixes. Then I changed my angle and it worked. I bowled over the wicket to Jadeja and I wanted to keep it away from his reach.”

Rajasthan Royals will face defending champions Gujarat Titans on Sunday at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.