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."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
