Jos Buttler attacked with 'Eoin Morgan' comparison as Ex-England captains demand instant sacking

England crashed out of the Champions Trophy 2025 after losing to Afghanistan in Lahore on February 26 (Wednesday). After the defeat, skipper Jos Buttler came under scrutiny for his ineffective leadership and poor batting form.

Jos Buttler, who is regarded as one of the best ever white-ball players from England, has been going through some poor form in the last few months. Legendary England cricketers Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain shared their thoughts on Buttler's captaincy after the loss.

Both of them feel that it is the end of the road for Buttler's captaincy as England haven't grown enough under his leadership. The Champions Trophy 2025 was the third tournament in a row in which England crashed out early and Buttler was the captain in all of them.

Also read: Babar Azam's spot in jeopardy as rift between Mohammad Rizwan and Aaqib Javed emerges

“I think his time is done as captain" - Michael Atherton on Jos Buttler

While speaking to Sky Sports after England's defeat to Afghanistan, Michael Atherton believed that it was the end of Jos Buttler as England's captain as the team has performed badly in the third successive ICC event.

“I think his time is done as captain. I think that’s probably right. England do judge themselves on these ICC events, they’ve made that very clear, that because they come along so frequently now, they build towards these tournaments," Atherton said.

Atherton called for a change in the leadership duties after England's disappointing performances in the ODI World Cup 2023, T20 World Cup 2024, and now the Champions Trophy 2025.

“But England have had three bad ones in a row now, the disastrous 50-over World Cup in India, a poor T20 World Cup in the Caribbean – where they made the semis but they didn’t beat anybody of note through it – and now here, and their cricket is way below the standards which they set themselves," Atherton noted

“Sometimes you just have to say it’s not working and therefore it’s time for a change and time for somebody else, and I think deep down, he probably knows that,” he added.

Nasser Hussain speaks on Jos Buttler's captaincy

In the same conversation, Nasser Hussain called the comparison between Jos Buttler and Eoin Morgan a "bad" one. He feels that Buttler was unable to keep up with the legacy of Eoin Morgan. He also criticized Buttler's captaincy by claiming that the wicketkeeper hasn't done much in that aspect.

“I’ve never looked at (Jos) Buttler and thought ‘wow what a leader,’ he doesn’t have that presence in the field that an Eoin Morgan had. That’s a bad comparison because you’re talking about England’s greatest-ever white-ball captain, and he was a hard act to follow," Hussain noted.

“As far as captaincy goes, I don’t think Buttler has added that much to this England team, but it’s taken away from his batting. And when you add the two together, take away from a great player and you’re not gaining with leadership and captaincy, I think it’s probably time to move on,” he added.

Jos Buttler in Champions Trophy 2025

Jos Buttler officially took over Eoin Morgan as England's white-ball captain in July 2022 after the latter's retirement. However, England have performed poorly in three ICC tournaments since the start of the 2023 ODI World Cup.

In the ongoing Champions Trophy, Buttler has scored 61 runs in two matches at an average of 30.50 and a strike rate of 96.82. His poor batting form has been one of the reasons for England's early exit from the tournament.