Jos Buttler steps down as England white-ball captain

After England’s eight-run defeat to Afghanistan in the ICC Champions Trophy, skipper Jos Buttler has decided to step down as captain of the national team after the conclusion of the eight-team showpiece event.

Under Jos Buttler’s captaincy, England bagged 15 defeats in their last 21 ODIs. With him stepping down as captain, ECB stated that the keeper-batter will continue to make himself available for selection as a player.

Unfortunately, England failed to retain their T20 World Cup and ODI World Cup titles under him as captain. Nevertheless, Buttler will be seen donning the captaincy hat in the team’s final group match against South Africa on Saturday, March 1. 

"I'm going to stand down as England captain, it's the right decision for me and the team. And hopefully somebody else can come in and work closely alongside (Brendon McCullum) to take the team back to where it needs to be. It was quite clear that this tournament was going to be important results-wise for my captaincy,” Jos Buttler said in the press conference.

Importantly, England suffered an eight-run defeat to Afghanistan to get eliminated from the ICC event. Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran’s 177 and Azmatullah Omarzai’s five wickets were important in scripting history for the Asian side. Prior to this, England suffered a defeat to Australia by five wickets in the tournament opener. 

It’s worth noting that Jos Buttler was appointed as Eoin Morgan's successor in June 2022, and he went on to win the T20 World Cup in Australia in the same year. 

However, England won only three of their nine matches as defending champions at the ODI World Cup 2023 in India. Unfortunately, the team exited from the semi-final in last year’s T20 World Cup and suffered a 0-3 whitewash against India in the ODI series.

England dashing batter Harry Brook is expected to succeed Buttler. However, Brendon McCullum has asserted that the management is yet to finalize the candidate.

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