IND vs ENG: 'It Is The Greatest Honour': Jos Buttler Proud To Succeed Eoin Morgan As England White-ball Captain

After replacing the “inspirational” World Cup-winning skipper Eoin Morgan as England’s new white-ball captain, Jos Buttler claimed he had been granted the “biggest honour.” 

Just two days after Morgan announced his retirement from international cricket, the England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed Buttler’s appointment on Thursday. 

Jos Buttler To Lead England In The T20 World Cup

Buttler has played for England’s white-ball sides for more than ten years, and since 2015, he has been Morgan’s vice-captain. 

In both one-day international and Twenty20 forms, the tenacious 31-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has already captained England 14 times, including during their most recent ODI against the Netherlands when Morgan was sidelined with a groin injury. 

The World Cup champion Buttler will serve as the skipper for 12 matches in July, including T20 and ODI series against South Africa and India. 

The T20 World Cup in Australia in October will be his first significant international competition as captain, with England defending their 50-over title in India the following year. 

A Great Honor To Take Over From Eoin Morgan: Jos Buttler

As soon as he was announced as the new captain, Buttler thanked Morgan for his “great leadership” in guiding England’s white-ball comeback after their humiliating World Cup first-round elimination. 

Buttler noted in an ECB statement that he had learned a lot from Morgan.  

“It is a great honour to take over from Eoin and the place he has left English white-ball cricket in is exciting, and I’m inspired for the challenges ahead. 

“It is the greatest honour to captain your country. I can’t wait to take this team forward.” 

In what was the former England batsman’s fourth significant appointment, director of men’s cricket Rob Key proposed Buttler for the position of captain. 

Ben Stokes Looking Forward To Play Under Jos Buttler

Ben Stokes was appointed Test captain by Key, who also divided the coaching duties. 

Brendon McCullum, a former captain of New Zealand, is currently in command of the red-ball squad, while Matthew Mott, a former coach of Australia’s dominant women’s team, is in charge of the limited-overs teams. 

In order to focus on his Test obligations, Stokes, who has spent the most of his England career as a multi-format all-rounder, is taking a break from the white-ball game. However, he anticipates working with Buttler in the near future.

“He was the obvious choice to take over from Morgs and I am really looking forward to playing a few games under him,” said Stokes, speaking on the eve of the Covid-delayed Test series finale against India at Edgbaston. 

The Indian Premier League’s Buttler is a dangerous run-scorer in limited overs cricket, amassing 4,120 runs from 151 ODIs, including 10 hundreds, thanks to his furious hitting. 

But with only two hundreds from 57 games in the five-day Test format, he has fared far worse and will not be playing for England at Edgbaston. 

Buttler last took the field in a Test match against Australia in Sydney in January, when England lost the dreadful Ashes series. 

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