Buttler to decide on captaincy future in coming weeks

Following his team’s group-stage exit from the Champions Trophy, Jos Buttler says he will consider his future as England’s white-ball captain in the coming weeks as he determines whether he is “part of the problem or the solution.”

In Lahore, England was defeated by Afghanistan by eight runs to be declared tournament-eligible.

It is England’s third successive disappointment in white-ball tournaments under Buttler’s captaincy, after the 50-over World Cup in 2023 and the T20 version last year.

“We need to consider all possibilities and get English cricket back to where we should be in white-ball cricket”, said Buttler, 34, after the match.

“Personally I need to work out, am I part of the problem or the solution?

I won’t make any emotional choices at this time or place. The guys in charge will have their own opinions, too, so I’ll take a little time to work that out for myself.

England came into the Champions Trophy off the back of a one-sided series defeat by India, and have now lost 12 of their last 16 one-day internationals.

Before the match against Afghanistan, Buttler claimed he was aware that his future might depend on it, but that despite the outcome, he still felt in love with the role.

” It’s had its moments, “he said of the captaincy.

I am a captain, which I am aware that many people find difficult to do because I enjoy leading. It weighs heavy at times, and we want to be a winning team. “

England’s final group game of the Champions Trophy is against South Africa on Saturday. Their next white-ball assignment is a home series against West Indies, which starts on May 29.

They have lost more ODIs (34) than they have won (29) since winning the World Cup in 2019). Under Buttler, who replaced World Cup-winning skipper Eoin Morgan in 2021, they have won 14 of 38 ODIs.

At the turn of the year, Brendon McCullum backed Buttler as captain, suggesting that the skipper might have the “best years ahead of him” for England.

However, following the Afghanistan loss, the BBC’s chief cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew suggested Buttler could return to his best in England’s batting ranks if he was freed of leadership.

According to Agnew, “It seems inevitable that England will have to look elsewhere for captain.”