Champions Trophy 2025: Jos Buttler steps down as England captain

KARACHI: England's middle-order wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler announced his resignation as team captain on Friday, ahead of their Champions Trophy clash against South Africa at the National Bank Cricket Stadium on March 1.

During a recent interview, Buttler cited England's poor performance under his leadership as the primary reason for stepping down.

"I'm going to stand down as England captain. It's the right decision for me," Buttler told reporters.

"It's the right decision for the team and hopefully somebody else who can come in and work closely alongside Baz (coach Brendon McCullum) to take the team back to where it needs to be."

"This tournament was going to be important result-wise for my captaincy and obviously two losses and being out of the tournament, and with a bit of a hangover of some tournaments before, I just probably reached the end of the road for me and my captaincy, which is a shame. I'm sad about that," he concluded.

Buttler led England in 44 ODI matches, securing 18 victories while suffering 25 defeats.

Despite guiding the team to their second T20 World Cup title in 2022 after defeating Pakistan in the final at Melbourne, he has now endured three major tournament failures as captain.

Notably, England became the first team from Group B to crash out of the eight-team tournament following back-to-back defeats against arch-rivals Australia and Afghanistan.

The Three Lions lost their opening match against Australia despite posting a record-breaking total of 351/8—the highest in Champions Trophy history.

Ben Duckett led the charge with a scintillating 165 off 143 balls. However, Australia successfully chased down the target in 47.3 overs, thanks to a dominant batting display.

Josh Inglis starred with a blistering 120 off 86 deliveries, while Alex Carey contributed a solid 69 off 63. Glenn Maxwell played a crucial cameo, smashing 32 off 15 balls to seal the victory.

In their second match, England suffered a shocking eight-run defeat against Afghanistan at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday.

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi’s decision to bat first paid off as his side posted 325/7 in their allotted 50 overs.

Ibrahim Zadran was the top-scorer for Afghanistan, smashing 177 off 146 deliveries, including 12 fours and six sixes.

In reply, England were bowled out for 317, with Azmatullah Omarzai delivering an exceptional spell, claiming five wickets despite Joe Root’s valiant knock of 120 runs.