Jos Buttler officially confirmed England's white ball captain
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has appointed wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler as their new limited overs captain. The explosive right-handed batter will replace Eoin Morgan, who retired from international cricket this week following a prolonged batting slump.
The Lancashire player has captained the national team in nine ODIs and five T20Is so far, leading England to nine wins across both formats. Most recently, Buttler led the team against the Netherlands in the final ODI of a three-game series, which Morgan sat out due to injury.
The wins. The losses. The lessons.
They've all led you here...
Now is your time, @josbuttler 💪 https://t.co/yFFHz2F0L4
Buttler thanked Morgan for his outstanding leadership over the last seven years, hailing his contribution to English cricket. The 31-year old said that it's an honour for him to succeed the Irishman, and he's is looking forward to the upcoming India and South Africa series. He said, as quoted by ecb.co.uk:
"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."
He continued:
"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."
The right-handed batter will start his stint against India, who'll play three ODIs and as many T20Is following the one-off Test in Edgbaston. Meanwhile, the Proteas will also compete in three ODIs and as many T20Is.
"Jos is a fantastic role model who inspires through his performances on the pitch" - ECB interim managing director on Jos Buttler
ECB interim managing director Clare Connor reckons Jos Buttler is ready to take the team forward and build on the dominance established by Morgan heading to the T20 World Cup later this year.
"Jos is a fantastic role model who inspires through his performances on the pitch," said Connor. "He has been instrumental in setting new standards in men's white ball cricket and is the perfect leader to build on the incredible legacy, which Eoin has built for our men's white ball teams. I'm excited to see where Jos and Matthew Mott take things from here, particularly as we build towards the ICC Men's T20 World Cup."
Jos is our Boss 💪 https://t.co/XPnOoHhVI5
The 31-year-old has been in fearsome form in the last few months, bagging the Orange Cap in IPL 2022 and earning the 'Player of the Series' award against the Netherlands.