T20 World Cup 2024: Jos Buttler fires a massive warning to team India

England captain Jos Buttler is optimistic about his team's chances of retaining their T20 World Cup title, drawing lessons from their disappointing defense of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in India last year. England is one of the strongest contenders for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024, which will be held in the Caribbean and the USA from June 1.

Notably, the England cricket team won the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia after crushing Pakistan in the final by five wickets at the iconic MCG. Reflecting on the 2023 ODI World Cup, where England lost six of their first seven matches, Buttler acknowledged the team's dismal performance.

Jos Buttler optimistic about England’s ICC T20 World Cup 2024 prospects

Referring to England’s poor show at the 2023 World Cup, the star opening batter emphasized the importance of clarity and balance in their approach, noting that while allowing players to play with freedom is crucial, it should not lead to confusion or a lack of direction.

However, Buttler hopes the defending champion England team will perform better at the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 after learning their lessons from the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. He also believes in building on their existing strategies rather than a complete overhaul.

Jos Buttler was quoted as saying by Sky Sports: “We just didn't play well enough. The big learning for me is to try not to confuse freedom with maybe a lack of clarity. Sometimes you're trying to let players play with freedom and you don't want to step in too much. But you have to make sure you don't miss things. Even if there was a lack of clarity, or whatever you want to call it, I'd still expect us to perform better than we did.”

Jos Buttler stresses adaptability and strategy

Buttler also highlighted the need for adaptability in T20 cricket, saying different matches might require massively different tactics in the upcoming showpiece event in the USA and Caribbean.

The England captain stressed that whether it's scoring over 200 runs or defending a modest total of 140 on challenging wickets, the team must be ready for changing scenarios to defend their title.

Buttler stated, “I don't think it's about trying to reinvent the wheel or trying to give people messages that they've never heard before. There might be games where you need to score in excess of 200, there might be games where you need to scrap and try and defend 140, on a wicket that's holding up and it's tough for batting.”

Notably, England will kick off their T20 World Cup title defense against Scotland on June 4 at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, which will also host their next group match against Australia on June 8.

England will next face Oman on June 14 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua and Barbuda – the venue will also host their final group stage clash against Namibia on June 15.

England Squad for the T20 World Cup 2024:

Jos Buttler (Captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.