IPL 2021: Royals hope to benefit from Sangakkara's experience

Bengaluru, April 11: Rajasthan Royals's star player Jos Buttler feels the presence a legend like Kumar Sangakkara as the team's Director of Cricket will be beneficial for the franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Royals appointed Sangakkara, the current president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), as Director of Cricket for overseeing the entire cricketing ecosystem of the Jaipur-based T20 franchise including coaching structure, auction plans and team strategy.

The former Sri Lankan captain is also in charge of talent discovery and development, as well as the development of the Royals Academy in Nagpur.

"He (Sangakkara) is a legend and has so much knowledge to share. He has vast experience of international cricket and has played the IPL too. He knows what to expect and it's a big plus for everyone to have him around," said Buttler.

The Royals will open their IPL 2021 campaign against Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium Mumbai on Monday.

Sanju Samson is the new skipper of the franchise.

Buttler, who captained England in the final two ODIs of the three-match series in India recently in the absence of an injured regular skipper Eoin Morgan, said that outing was a valuable learning experience for him.

"Playing against India in India is always the biggest challenge for England team. I mean playing against the best players and getting used to the conditions.

"Playing against some young Indian players was a great experience. I've enjoyed playing and captaining against India. I've learnt a lot about myself from that experience," he said.

Ever since international cricket resumed, the players have been forced to stay in bio-bubbles to avoid contracting the deadly coronavirus (COVID-10), making it extremely difficult for players to stay fresh and motivated.

With India witnessing an exponential surge in COVID-19 cases, the ongoing IPL is also being held behind closed doors.

"Playing without fans and living continuously in bio-bubbles is difficult. You've to learn to live without the energy that the crowd brings to the stadiums in IPL," Buttler said.

(With PTI inputs)