Captaincy on line against Afghanistan – Buttler

Jos Buttler, England’s captain, claims that the Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan could have a bearing on his future.

England must win the Group B game on Wednesday in Lahore to avoid being knocked out of the competition.

After acing their failed defenses of the 50 and 20-over World Cups in 2023 and 2024, respectively, they would have won a third disappointing white-ball tournament in a row under Buttler.

When Eoin Morgan retired in 2022, Buttler, who now leads England’s white-ball team, stated, “You want to perform well every time.”

“We haven’t been doing that enough in the recent past”.

Although batter Buttler is under pressure, he said he will keep focusing on the positive aspects.

He said, “You just try to completely forget that when you start thinking negatively about anything and where you can take the team,” and concentrate on the positive things that might go wrong.

“I’m very much focused on that”.

Although Buttler was injured for two of those bilateral series, they have also lost four of them.

With the victory of Australia over South Africa, England will only be able to reach the semi-finals. Whether or not defeating either game will have an impact on the group’s results, unless it continues to rain.

According to Buttler, “we need to make sure we build on what we did well the other day and try to do things a little better in some areas as well.”

“We probably left a few out there, which is a nice sign for the batting unit,” the captain said.

We did a lot of things right with the ball, but we could have been a little more persistent in establishing the scoreboard pressure.

The match will be played at the same ground as England’s defeat by Australia, albeit on a fresh pitch.

The dew may have had a significant impact on that match, making the match’s environment more conducive for batting in the chase against Australia, with some reports claiming up to 60 runs on the board.

Dew usually hampers spinners, who are unable to get as much turn from the damp surface, or grip a wet ball. Afghanistan have a fearsome spin attack, including world-class leg-spinner Rashid Khan.