Jos Buttler quits as captain following England’s disappointing Champions Trophy campaign

Buttler quits as England skipper following Champions Trophy debacle

England batter Jos Buttler has stepped down from captaincy following the Three Lions’ Champions Trophy exit with consecutive defeats to Australia and Afghanistan respectively. Buttler announced the shocking decision during a press conference on Friday.

England’s fate was sealed following their 8-run defeat against Afghanistan on Wednesday. This loss came after the Three Lions had also suffered a comprehensive defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Australia in their tournament opener.

This was the third successive failed ICC tournament campaign by England under Buttler’s captaincy.

“Just to let you all know, I am going to stand down as England’s captain. It was the right decision for me and the team. Hopefully, somebody else can come in and work closely alongside Baz (Brendon McCullum) to take the team back to where it needs to be,” Buttler said at the press conference.

“I think it was quite clear that this tournament was going to be quite important, results-wise and for my captaincy. Obviously, two losses and being out of the tournament, and perhaps also exhibiting a bit of hangover from the tournaments before led me to believe that we have reached the end of the road for my captaincy. It’s a shame. I’m sad about it…But it just felt like it’s time for me and the team to have a change,” Buttler added.

Since England’s 2022 T20 World Cup triumph, Buttler has led the Three Lions to an early exit in the 2023 ODI World Cup, a semi-final defeat in the 2024 T20 World Cup and finally another group-stage elimination in the ongoing 2025 Champions Trophy.