England captain Jos Buttler admitted that he was “definitely” going to return to the national team as the skipper of the Three Lions for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Edgbaston: England captain Jos Buttler admitted that he was “definitely” going to return to the national team as the skipper of the Three Lions for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Ahead of the marquee event in June in the USA and the West Indies, Buttler is leading England in a four-match T20I series against Pakistan.
Buttler was one of the English players to miss the Indian Premier League playoffs, for the T20I series against Men in Green.
The first game of the series got washed away before the toss, but Buttler stated that the team is excited to don the England jersey once again.
“Everyone was really excited for this series. Putting the England kit back on and playing cricket in England is amazing so it’s really disappointing today not to be playing but three matches still to look forward to,” he told Sky Sports.
The series will help England gear up and fine-tune their squad to defend their crown in the upcoming tournament.
Buttler acknowledged that his priority is being the skipper of his side and was confident about returning as the skipper of the team.
“It’s a unique build-up. I think that’s why we felt it was good to get the players all together in this series,” Buttler said.
“My first priority at the moment is being England captain and trying to prepare as best we can for a world tournament, so I always said to Rob (Key) I would definitely be coming back as England captain, and he’s made the call on the rest of the players,” he added.
Before the tournament, England players have been enjoying a rich vein in form. Opener Phil Salt led the attack from the front and scored 435 runs in 12 matches in the IPL for Kolkata Knight Riders.
While experienced all-rounder Will Jacks showed his class with Royal Challengers Bengaluru following his 100* in a mere 41 delivers against Gujarat Titans.
While assessing the form of the players, Buttler said, “I think we’ve got a really nice, blended squad, actually. We’ve got a lot of experience but some guys who are really on the upward curve with the likes of Phil Salt, Will Jacks.”
“Harry Brook is still very early in his international career and those guys I really see trending in the right direction and pushing this team forward,” he added.
England’s T20 World Cup defence will begin against Scotland on June 4 at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. They will then play group matches against Australia, Oman, and Namibia in Barbados and Antigua.