It wasn’t a long time ago when England’s managing director Rob Key insisted James Anderson hang up his boots in Test cricket while after the India series the pacer had said he had no “thoughts” to retire.
Now, Jos Buttler is in the radar of Key as England failed to put up a great show in the last two edition of the ICC events (T20 and ODI World Cup to be precise)
England scampered to the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2024 but lost to the eventual champions India in the semi-final. And during the ODI World Cup 2023, the Three Lions finished at seventh with just three victories before their name!
While Rob Key is expected to hold a meeting with Jos in this regard, the wicket-keeper batter was hit with another blow.
The 33-year-old will miss out on the upcoming edition of The Hundred due to the calf injury and the batter was due to lead Manchester Originals in the tournament.
The full extent of the injury will be learned in the coming days but as of now Buttler is out for the six weeks. It is thought that he has picked up the injury while training.
If anything, this injury will make his next assignment for England doubtful. The next white-ball series is against Australia in September. Besides injury, the meeting with the managing director will decide the future of Buttler as a captain.
Moreover, few reports have suggested that the leadership of Buttler has been criticised and received negative feedback by the players and staff. So, at 33, Buttler may step down from the leadership role.
So, who are the next options for the England team? Moeen Ali is the vice-captain right now but for sure he isn’t the future choice. It is expected that Phil Salt will replace Buttler in the role. The batter will also be captaining Originals due to Buttler’s unavailability.
With the Champions Trophy slated to begin in Pakistan in 2025, England will be looking for a great option to lead the side once Buttler step-down.
If we shed light on Buttler’ ODI win percentage, it stands at 46.31 in 39 outings. Not to mention, Buttler had taken over captaincy from Eion Morgan, a man who revolutionised England cricket. In T20is, he has a winning percentage of 53.65 in 41 games, including the 2022 T20 World Cup triumph.
Whether Buttler remains the captain or not, his batting has played a pivotal role for the England team. In the ongoing year he has been striking at 163 and averaging 48 in 10 outings in the T20is. Although in ODIs, his performance wasn’t up the mark in the ODI World Cup 2023 but he’s still a vital cog in England’s white-ball setup, given his talent and explosive batting.
While it’s time for England’s new generation to take on and shine as a number of golden generation players that began under Morgan in 2015 are coming to end their careers both in ODIs and T20is and with the likes of Salt,Gut Atkinson, Harry Brook, the future of England looks anything but bright.
