Jos Buttler Set To Return For Second T20I vs Pakistan, Paul Collingwood Confirms

Jos Buttler is set to return to the England side to take on Pakistan in the second T20I of the ongoing series in Leeds on Sunday.

Last month, the wicketkeeper-opener sustained a calf tear in the first T20I against Sri Lanka, where he scored an unbeaten 68. He then missed the next two T20Is, the ODI series versus Sri Lanka, and the ODI series and the first T20Is versus Pakistan, which the hosts lost on Friday by 31 runs. Dawid Malan opened alongside Jason Roy on Friday.

Paul Collingwood, who is the standing coach for the T20I series as Chris Silverwood is on a break, confirmed that the dynamic opener will return on Sunday evening. Apart from the news of Jos Buttler, Collingwood also updated on the fitness of wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, who was hit on his hand while keeping in the first match.

“We have Jos fit again and he is ready to go so he will come back into the side. It will be good to see Jos back in the ranks. He has experience and we all know what he can do at the top of the order,” Collingwood told reporters. 

“Jonny has a bit of bruising on the finger but he seems fine. Everyone is fit and raring to go.”

Desperate to win the games but at the same time there is experimenting going on: Paul Collingwood

The former England captain spoke about the need to strike the balance between the desire to win games but also to try out new players. In the first T20Is, Adil Rashid and Chris Jordan were rested while youngster Matt Parkinson, Saqib Mahmood, Tom Curran were given opportunities.

“We are desperate to win the games but at the same time there is experimenting going on because we have to give guys opportunities, it’s as simple as that. There are not many games before the T20 World Cup and we want to make sure every single position in the side is covered and we understand what every player who is backing up the other players can do,” Collingwood said.

“It’s important to give Parky [Parkinson] a good chance. He has travelled around with us for long periods and not played a lot of cricket and we have to see what he is like in every situation. Adil will come back into the frame but it’s still important to see what Parky can do.

“He has had a good start in the one-day series [which England won 3-0] and bowled very well but T20 is a completely different game where you are put under pressure from ball one.”

On the other hand, Pakistan are likely to go unchanged after registering their first win on the tour.

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