IPL 2024: Jos Buttler Likens Wankhede Stadium’s Roar to a Taylor Swift Concert
Picture this: you’re at the crease, the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai is pulsating with energy, and over 33,000 fans are chanting in unison. For England’s swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler, this electrifying atmosphere is comparable to the deafening roar of a Taylor Swift concert. In a candid conversation on his new podcast, For the Love of Cricket, co-hosted with Stuart Broad, Buttler opened up about the sheer intensity of playing against the Mumbai Indians at their fortress.
“In all the Indian stadiums, there’s always one emcee stirring up the crowd. Whenever I’m batting, he gets them to chant ‘Jos the Boss’. Imagine a bowler charging in while the entire stadium echoes with that chant—it’s surreal,” Buttler shared with a chuckle. The 33-year-old, who has been a key figure for the Rajasthan Royals since 2018, scoring over 3,000 runs in the IPL, painted a vivid picture of the chaos at Wankhede. “It’s an incredibly loud stadium. When Jasprit Bumrah is bowling, the crowd erupts with ‘Boom Boom Bumrah!’ There’s this crescendo as he runs in, and in my mind, I’m just thinking, ‘It’s loud, it’s getting louder, and he’s getting closer!’ You’ve got to manage that chaos—it’s what high-level cricket is all about.”
Searching for a parallel to describe the noise, Buttler drew an unexpected yet striking comparison. “I’ve been to a Taylor Swift concert, and when she finishes a song, the noise is absolutely deafening. That’s the only thing I can think of that comes close to the atmosphere at IPL stadiums like Wankhede,” he remarked. This isn’t just hyperbole—Wankhede, often called the ‘Mecca of Mumbai cricket’, is renowned for its passionate fanbase, especially during IPL clashes where every boundary and wicket feels like a seismic event.
Buttler’s reflections weren’t limited to crowd noise. He also touched on the mental fortitude required to thrive under such pressure, a hallmark of his career where he’s often delivered in clutch moments—think his explosive 124 off 64 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2021. “It’s about managing everything around you—the expectations, the noise, the intensity. That’s what separates the good from the great in the Indian Premier League,” he noted.
Beyond the stadium drama, Buttler also took time to praise Shubman Gill, his fellow IPL star and the newly appointed captain of the Gujarat Titans, who is set to lead India in an upcoming five-match Test series against Zimbabwe. “Shubman is a really impressive player and an impressive young man. He’s calm and measured off the field, but on it, he’s got this fight and intensity—quite passionate. I think he’ll be a blend of Virat Kohli’s aggression and Rohit Sharma’s composure as a leader,” Buttler predicted. Gill, at just 24, has already notched up over 1,400 IPL runs and will look to carry this form into his international captaincy stint.
As the IPL 2024 season looms, Buttler’s words remind us why the tournament is more than just a cricket league—it’s a cultural phenomenon. Whether it’s the spine-tingling chants or the nail-biting finishes, the atmosphere at venues like Wankhede elevates the game to a spectacle. For fans and players alike, it’s clear: nothing quite matches the roar of an IPL night under the Mumbai lights, not even a sold-out pop concert.