Jos Buttler has stated that taking a break from cricket following a poor T20 World Cup campaign has helped him as he prepares for a new start with the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League starting later this month.

Buttler opened the batting for England at the World Cup, scoring just 87 runs at an average of 10.87 and a dismal strike rate of 116 in eight games. England was eliminated from the competition after losing to India in a high-scoring semifinal in Mumbai.

The 35-year-old believes that his absence from the game since the T20 World Cup will benefit him going into the IPL, which begins on March 28.

"I couldn't have been further away from cricket, which for me at the time was just perfect. It's exactly what I needed. Obviously, the tournament didn't go personally how I'd have liked it to go. I just felt like I needed some space (away) from cricket and not to think about the game, and I could not have been further away from cricket where I was in that week," Buttler said on the "For the Love of Cricket' podcast.

Buttler says a break from cricket has given him time to reflect

Buttler said the break was energising, which also gave him time to reflect. Buttler will be back playing for the Gujarat Titans during the IPL 2026.

"It was really refreshing -- I really enjoyed it -- a complete sort of release. Slowly but surely, I'd say at the start of this week, (I am) just starting to reflect a bit and have a few thoughts about what's important to me and my cricket, and why it probably didn't go quite as I would've liked," he added.

Buttler claimed that his lack of runs in the T20 World Cup was not the result of a lack of effort because he had spent as much time as possible in the nets attempting to regain his form prior to the semi-final match against India.

"There's elements (to what went wrong) that I actually don't really know exactly. For all your best intentions and hard work and efforts to perform, it just didn't work, and sometimes that's okay as well. That's something I've had to realise. It wasn't for a lack of effort; it just didn't quite happen," Buttler said. 

(With PTI Input)