Jos Buttler Provides Big England Captaincy Update After Champions Trophy Exit
England skipper Jos Buttler said he wouldn't like to make any "emotional statements" on his captaincy but "all possibilities" are on the table after his side was shockingly eliminated from the Champions Trophy by Afghanistan.
England skipper Jos Buttler said he wouldn't like to make any "emotional statements" on his captaincy but "all possibilities" are on the table after his side was shockingly eliminated from the Champions Trophy by Afghanistan on Wednesday. A listless England, barring Joe Root who smashed a century, suffered an eight-run defeat against the Afghans, and it pushed them out of the marquee event prematurely. Chasing 326 for victory, England were bundled out for 317 with Afghanistan batter Ibrahim Zadran smashing a superb 177 and pacer Azmatullah Omarzai grabbing a five-wicket haul. "I don't want to say any emotional statements right now. But I think for myself and the other guys at the top, we should consider all possibilities," said Buttler in the post match presentation on his future as the England white-ball skipper.
This is the third successive failed ICC tournament campaign by England under Buttler's captaincy after the 2023 World Cup in India and the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Americas.
England had suffered a humiliating 69-run loss to Afghanistan in the group stage of the 2023 Cricket World Cup in New Delhi.
"It's really disappointing. I thought we had our chances in the game. Another fantastic game of cricket, but disappointing to come out on the wrong side," added Buttler, whose side was in the match till the 48th over when they lost the wicket of Jamie Overton, who was going great guns at the back end.
Buttler acknowledged that Afghanistan batted really well in the last 10 overs, which made things uphill for his side.
"They got away from us there in the last 10 overs. Credit to Ibrahim (Zadran), he played a fantastic innings. If we look back and reflect, 113 off the last 10 pushed them up to a score that was a very good score on that pitch." The skipper praised Root for the way he kept his cool under difficult circumstances to score his 120.
"He played an unbelievable innings tonight. The way he handled pressure in a run-chase. He needed one of the other top six batters to stay in with him and take the game deeper." Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, who shared a century stand with Zadran at the top, said the win was an indicator of his team's improvement.
"As a team we are happy and I'm sure the whole nation will be happy with this win. The first time we beat them was in the 2023 World Cup. I keep saying that we are improving day by day as a team, and that's what we've shown at the last couple of world cups. Today, it was a tense game, but we controlled it really well. I'm happy with the result," said Shahidi.
On Zadran's brilliant century, he said the opener delivered under intense pressure.
"Talented guy. When we were three down at the beginning, it was too much pressure. But the partnership, me and Ibrahim had, was special. I think it was one of the best ODI innings I have ever seen.
"The beauty of our team is we have talented youngsters and at the same time we have senior guys who are at the top level. Everyone knows their own roles of what they should do in this team. Hopefully, we take this momentum with us for the next game against Australia," he said.Â
Jos Buttler
England Cricket Team
Afghanistan