England captain Jos Buttler has affirmed his commitment to retaining his captaincy despite England’s World Cup campaign taking a discouraging turn following their loss to Sri Lanka.
The Three Lions were dismissed for a mere 156 runs at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, with Sri Lanka comfortably chasing the total in 26 overs, resulting in an eight-wicket loss – their fourth defeat in five games in the ODI World Cup.
While the loss hasn’t mathematically eliminated England from the semifinal race, Buttler conceded that their hopes have significantly diminished ahead of their upcoming match against tournament favorites and hosts India in Lucknow on Sunday.
“It certainly looks that way, and that’s incredibly disappointing. We arrived in India with high hopes, and everything seemed to be going as planned. However, it just hasn’t worked out at all,” Buttler expressed.
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Buttler led England to victory in the ICC T20 World Cup last year, but his stint as captain in ODI cricket has been a mixed bag since taking over from Eoin Morgan in 2022.
When asked if he is determined to continue as captain, Buttler responded, “As a captain, you are constantly questioning how to bring out the best in the players and move the team in the right direction. I have strong confidence in my leadership and captaincy abilities, as well as my skills as a player. However, the decision on whether I should remain the captain is one for the higher-ups to consider.”
The defending champions began their World Cup campaign with a heavy nine-wicket defeat to New Zealand, followed by a win against Bangladesh. However, they faced unexpected losses to Afghanistan and South Africa before their latest setback.
Buttler expressed his desire to lead by example through his performance and acknowledged that he has fallen short in that regard during the tournament.
