Jos Buttler quits as England white-ball skipper after CT exit
Karachi, Feb 28 (PTI): Jos Buttler on Friday said he will step down as England white-ball captain after their last Champions Trophy group match against South Africa on Saturday, taking responsibility for his team's exit from the eight-team tournament.
England crashed out of the eight-team Champions Trophy after losing to Afghanistan on Wednesday. They play against South Africa in their last Group B match here on Saturday.
"I'm going to stand down as England captain. It's the right decision for me and the team," the 34-year-old Buttler said at a press conference here.
"It's quite clear. This tournament was important, results-wise, for my captaincy, and obviously, two losses and being out of the tournament, with a bit of a hangover from past tournaments, I think it just probably reached the end of the road for me and my captaincy, which is a shame," he said.
After taking over as white-ball captain in June 2022 following the retirement of Eoin Morgan, Buttler led England to glory in that year's T20 World Cup in Australia.
However, his tenure also saw two disappointing title defences -- the 2023 50-over World Cup in India where England failed to make the semifinals after losing to Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
In the T20 World Cup, they lost to the eventual winners India in the semifinal in the Caribbean last year.
"It's the right decision for me, for the team. Hopefully, somebody else can come in and work closely alongside Baz (coach Brendon McCullum) to take the team back to where it needs to be," he added.
Buttler has captained England in 44 ODIs, securing 18 wins and 25 losses, and recording one no result. His T20 record is slightly better, with 26 wins, 22 losses, and three no results from 51 matches.
"With Brendon coming in recently, I was really excited to work closely alongside him and hoped for a very quick turnaround to take the team forward. But it's not quite worked out that way. So, yeah, it just feels like it's the right time for me and also for the team to have a change," he said.
No retirement yet
Buttler, however, said there is no retirement in the pipeline for him as he wants to "get back to really enjoying" his cricket.
"Maybe in time, it will be... I think sort of overriding emotions are still there, sort of sadness and and disappointment, but I'm sure in time that will pass.
"I can get back to really enjoy my cricket, and also I'll be able to reflect on what an immense honour it is to captain your country and all the special things that come with it."
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Dragging Gaurav's family, children into 'Pak link' allegation by Assam CM wrong politics: Priyanka
Guwahati (PTI): Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday criticised Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for attacking Gaurav Gogoi over alleged Pakistan links, asserting that dragging his family and children into it is "wrong politics".
After paying homage to Zubeen Garg at his cremation ground 'Zubeen Khetra' at Sonapur on the outskirts of Guwahati, Vadra said the singer was "above politics" and spread the message of love throughout his life.
"There are two types of leaders in politics -- one who does positive politics and the other who does polarisation. Gaurav Gogoi is doing the politics of love," she said when asked about Sarma's repeated attacks on the Assam Congress chief over alleged Pakistan links.
Vadra asserted that Gogoi is "a positive person, and wants to bring positivity in politics".
"That is why such attacks on him are taking place. People of Assam understand this. But the attacks on Gaurav and his family are the wrong politics. Nobody should attack the family and children (of a political leader)," Vadra said.
Instead of such politics, the Assam CM should "talk about the youth and women of the state, who are looking for jobs", the Wayanad MP said.
"You are seeing how much corruption is taking place. It is just a betrayal of the people of the state," she told reporters.
Talking about her visit to 'Zubeen Khetra' in the morning, Vadra said that she went to the cremation ground to pay her respect to the singer and not do any politics over it.
"Zubeen Garg was above politics. His cremation ground should be a sacred place and should not be used for politics," she added.
VIDEO | Guwahati: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) says, "When we contest elections and talk about leadership in politics, there are two kinds of leaders. One is a positive leader — someone with a positive mindset. Such leaders tell you what they want to do for… pic.twitter.com/52z4HwRitg
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 20, 2026
