"I can't speak for them individually but I hope they have white-ball aspirations" - Buttler on the Root-Stokes duo being available for CT 2025
England white-ball captain Jos Buttler has remarked that there is still no clarity regarding the availability of the senior duo of Joe Root and Ben Stokes for the 2025 Champions Trophy. The pair have not played international white-ball cricket since the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, which triggered the talks of a potential revamp for the side.
Ben Stokes, who had reversed his retirement to partake in the 2023 ODI World Cup, expressed his desire to make another comeback after Brendon McCullum's appointment as the white-ball head coach. Root, on the other hand, has been prioritized for red-ball cricket in recent times.
The England side now boasts of youngsters as part of the revolution after yet another underwhelming campaign in the form of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Several new players have now settled in through the white-ball series against Australia and the West Indies of late.
Buttler admitted that he is unsure of where things stand with Root and Stokes, but hopes that the duo stage positive talks with Brendon McCullum in the coming weeks.
"I don't know exactly. Obviously Brendon McCullum is coming in full-time and he'll be in touch with the guys. It's conversations for the next few weeks with the guys in charge. The guys here have played really well. Some of the young players have done themselves no harm at all. There are people who aren't here who will have aspirations to be in the white-ball side as well. It's really exciting," Buttler said after England's 3-1 series win over West Indies (via ESPN Cricinfo).
"I can't speak for them individually but I hope they have white-ball aspirations. They're two great players," he added.
Root and Stokes have made a combined total of over 300 appearances in the format. The pair were part of the iconic squad that won the 2019 ODI World Cup on home soil under Eoin Morgan.
"It's been good for me to take one less thing off my plate" - Jos Buttler on playing as a pure batter during the Caribbean tour
The T20I series against the West Indies marked Jos Buttler's return to competitive cricket after a lengthy layoff due to a calf injury right after the 2024 T20 World Cup campaign. The wicket-keeper batter missed The Hundred 2024, the home series against Australia, and the ODI series against West Indies following multiple setbacks during recovery.
He returned to lead the side in the T20Is against West Indies, but as a pure batter, while Phil Salt kept the wickets. Admitting that he is unsure of whether he will continue without the gloves, Buttler said:
"I don't know exactly but I've enjoyed it. It's been good for me to take one less thing off my plate. Tres (Trescothik) has been great at doing that as well, he's really led the side and really helped me and pushed me towards those kinds of things. Change is good sometimes. I've enjoyed being closer to the bowlers."
Buttler marked a golden duck on his first match after injury, but made amends right away by scoring a match-winning 83 in the very next contest.