Jos Buttler admitted he will consider his position as England white-ball captain following a third ignominious exit at a major tournament under his leadership.
England have surrendered both limited-overs World Cups in the last 18 months and have now crashed out of the Champions Trophy in the group stages after a nail-biting eight-run defeat to Afghanistan.
Buttler accepted the stakes were high ahead of Wednesday’s contest in Lahore and after a 22nd defeat in 34 ODIs since succeeding Eoin Morgan in June 2022, he acknowledges he has some soul-searching to do.
“Obviously the results aren’t where they need to be,” he said. “I’ve got to work out personally, am I part of the problem or am I part of the solution?”
Afghanistan clinched an eight-run victory in Lahore (K.M. Chaudary/AP)
Buttler, who skippered England to 2022 T20 World Cup glory, insisted he will make no rash decisions on his future and will consult with head coach Brendon McCullum and director of men’s cricket Rob Key.
McCullum expanding his role to absorb the ODI and T20 sides into his remit was welcomed as a shot in the arm for Buttler but under the duo, England have won only once in 10 matches.
“I’m not going to make any emotional decisions right here, right now,” he said. “There are people I want to discuss that with and take a little bit of time to work out personally what I think is right.
“I want to see the guys at the top – they’re in charge and they will have their own views as well. We need to get the team back to where it needs to be, competing to winning these tournaments.”