Jos Buttler: How I got embarassed around AB de Villiers during IPL
Buttler's wife got her dialects mixed up when Jos met "idol" AB
Friday 17 April 2020 08:25, UK
AB de Villiers is one of the greatest batsmen to ever take the field and everyone knows he is from South Africa, right?!
Not Louise Buttler a few years ago, it turns out, with Jos Buttler's now wife and then fiancée making a faux pas in a hotel bar as her husband chatted to his "idol" during one edition of the Indian Premier League.
"De Villiers was always my idol growing up, the guy I loved watching with the bat, and I got to know him a bit during the IPL," Buttler said on a recent podcast for Rajasthan Royals, his current IPL franchise.
"When I was at Mumbai, he said, 'let's catch-up for a beer in the hotel'. I was so excited. I got back to the hotel and I told Louise.
"We had to get straight down to the bar as AB de Villiers was going to be there. I said, 'he's my idol, it's going to be awesome so play it cool and please don't say anything stupid!'
"I had been chatting to him for 20 minutes with his thick Afrikaans accent, and Louise goes, 'so what part of New Zealand are you from?'
"I was so embarrassed, and she was so embarrassed for me. I don't think I've seen him since!"
Buttler has helped in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic by auctioning his World Cup final shirt, the one he was wearing when he ran out Martin Guptill to win the title for England at Lord's in July.
"Louise's auntie is the head of paediatrics at the Royal Brompton Hospital and when it all started, we just got in touch with her and asked if there was anything we could do to help.
"She told us they had launched an emergency fund to buy some emergency equipment that they were going to need because of the spike in people coming into A&E and needing treatment.
"I thought we could auction off my shirt and hopefully raise some money. It raised a good amount that will be able to buy some really vital equipment."
