Jos Buttler named England's white-ball captain

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has appointed Jos Buttler as England’s new white-ball captain. Eoin Morgan retired from international cricket earlier this week following poor form and fitness and even he had advocated Buttler to succeed him at the helm. Buttler stepped in temporarily several times for Morgan over the last few years and is possibly in the form of his life having enjoyed a great run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the ODI series against the Netherlands.

His first assignment as the full-time skipper of England will be the T20I and ODI series against India. The tussle will begin in the shortest format first from July 7 while the ODI series is scheduled to commence on July 12. Jos Buttler has led England 14 times (9 ODIs and 5 T20Is) previously and isn’t entirely new to the leadership responsibility.

It is a great honour to captain your country, says Buttler

Jos Buttler is delighted to take over the reins of England’s white-ball teams and also thanked Eoin Morgan for taking the team to greater heights during his leadership tenure. He also termed Morgan as an inspirational leader and is looking forward to leading England against India and South Africa in the ongoing summer.

“I would like to offer my sincere thanks and gratitude to Eoin Morgan for his outstanding leadership over the past seven years. It has been the most memorable period for everyone involved. He has been an inspirational leader, and it has been fantastic to play under him. There are lots of things that I have learnt from him that I’ll take into this role.

“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. There is excellent strength-in-depth in the white-ball squads, and I’m looking forward to leading the teams out for the series that are coming up against India starting next week and later in July against South Africa.

“It is the greatest honour to captain your country, and when I have had the chance to step in the past, I have loved doing it. I can’t wait to take this team forward,” Buttler said in an official press statement released by ECB.