IND vs ENG: Jos Buttler Says England White-Ball Captaincy Could End Test Career
Published - 06 Jul 2022, 12:46 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:09 AM
Jos Buttler stated on Friday that being the new white-ball captain of England may put a stop to his Test career. Eoin Morgan, the 2019 50-over World Cup-winning captain, announced his retirement from international cricket on Tuesday.
Jos Buttler took over as England’s captain in the one-day international and Twenty20 formats. Since 2015, the vivacious 31-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has served as Morgan’s vice-captain.
Morgan had ended his Test career to concentrate on white-ball cricket. Buttler, the Indian Premier League’s MVP, a World Cup champion, and a powerful run-scorer in limited-overs cricket, has amassed 4,120 runs from 151 ODIs, including 10 hundreds, thanks to his furious hitting.
Jos Buttler To Follow Eoin Morgan’s Path?
Buttler has played in 57 five-day Test matches, although his record there is significantly worse. He has only scored two hundreds in those contests, and he was not a part of the England Test teams that won the series against New Zealand and the postponed fifth Test against India.
After not playing a Test since England’s dismal 4-0 Ashes series loss in Australia in January, Buttler is now slated to captain England in 12 limited-overs matches against India and South Africa in July.
Buttler has been urged by people like former England captain Michael Vaughan and Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara to return to Test cricket as an opener, a position he has thrived at during his red-ball career but one in which he has not played before.
The T20 World Cup in Australia in October will be Buttler’s first significant international competition as captain, and England will defend their 50-over title in India the following year.
Captaining The White Ball Team Jos Buttler’s No.1 Priority
Buttler was skeptical about the possibility of being called back, especially after new red-ball skipper Ben Stokes guided England to a recent 3-0 whitewash of Test world champions New Zealand. Morgan ended his own Test career to concentrate on his limited-overs responsibilities.
“Certainly being captain of the white-ball team is my number one priority. I’m very focused and really excited for the challenge that lies ahead,” Buttler told reporters.
“I think it’s going to be a really big challenge and one that needs my full-time attention. Talking about the Test stuff might be a question that never has to be answered unless someone wants to pick me for the team, which hasn’t been the case.
“It’s quite obvious at the minute I was left out on merit and rightfully so. I had a poor Ashes series and I’m not part of the team at the moment.
“The team is playing fantastically well, so it doesn’t look like a team that needs people.”