Former South African cricketer Jacques Kallis has predicted that England skipper Jos Buttler will be the leading run-scorer in the forthcoming ICC Cricket World Cup. The ICC global event is scheduled to be played in India from October 5 to November 19.
England, the defending champions, will play the curtain raiser of the tournament against runners-up New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Speaking to ICC, Kallis stated that he does fancy Buttler in Indian conditions and believes the England skipper will be the one player to stand up for his team during the event.
“I think Jos Butler will be the leading run-scorer. An outside call, but I fancy him in those conditions. Along with England having a good World Cup, I think, um, me, he’s going to be the one guy that stands up,” said Kallis.
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Jos Buttler will be one of the key players for England when they come to defend the World Cup title in India. The 32-year-old has had an impressive campaign in the 2019 ODI World Cup, amassing 312 games from 11 games, including a hundred and two half-centuries at an average of 122.83. He has scored a total of 4647 runs from 165 ODI games at an average of 41.49.
The legendary wicketkeeper-batter was crucial for England in their T20 World Cup-winning campaign in 2022. In 106 T20I games, he has scored 2713 runs at an average of 34.78. The 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) season was one to remember for Buttler, scoring 863 runs at an excellent average of 57.53 from 17 matches.
He also hit four hundreds during the campaign and emerged as the Orange Cap holder in that season. The 32-year-old’s contributions were vital for Rajasthan Royals (RR) as the Sanju Samson-led side reached the final of IPL 2022, where they lost to Gujarat Titans.