Jos Buttler to Step Down as Wicket-Keeper to Focus on Captaincy

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England’s white-ball captain Jos Buttler is considering giving up wicket-keeping to focus more on his leadership responsibilities. This decision comes after a discussion with the newly appointed white-ball head coach of the England cricket team, Brendon McCullum.

Under Buttler’s captaincy, England had a disappointing campaign in the ODI World Cup 2023, held in India last year, and failed to qualify for the finals in the T20 World Cup 2024. Despite this, the board has continued to place its trust in Jos Buttler as captain.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has dismissed their white-ball head coach Matthew Mott, and have brought in their red-ball head coach, Brendon McCullum, to oversee all three formats of the game. 

“If I was playing in this T20 series, I was going to give up the gloves and commit to being at mid-off and seeing how that felt. Baz stumbled across it with injury preventing him from keeping wicket, but then he really enjoyed being at mid-off, so that’s something we can talk about. If that’s something that will really help me in my captaincy, then it’s something that I am open to,” Buttler said on Sky Sports during the 3rd T20I match. 

‘I Want What’s Best for Team’ – Jos Buttler

Currently, Buttler is recovering from a calf injury and will miss the five-match ODI series against Australia. However, he expects to return and deliver his best to help England win matches. Earlier, he had moved to the middle order in ODIs, and now he is ready to give up keeping duties.

“I am very open to those kinds of things. I just want what’s best for the team, and what’s best for the team is me being the best captain I can be. If I have to move from behind the wickets to do that, then so be it,” Buttler added.

Meanwhile, Harry Brook has been appointed as the captain of the England cricket team for the ODI series against Australia.

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