Jos Buttler has stepped down as England white ball captain after elimination at the earliest stage from the ICC Champions Trophy.
England lost to Australia by five wickets on Saturday and then were stunned by Afghanistan on Wednesday, losing by eight runs.
That defeat meant they were eliminated at the group stage, despite having a game to play against South Africa on Saturday.
The loss was was their ninth loss in ten white-ball matches since the turn of the year.
Asked about his future after the shock loss to Afghanistan, Buttler told Sky Sports: ‘I don’t want to say any emotional statements right now. But I think for myself and the guys at the top, we should consider all possibilities.’
Announcing his decision to step down on Friday, the 34-year-old told a press conference: ‘I’m going to stand down as England captain. It’s the right decision for me, it’s the right decision for the team and hopefully somebody else can come in and work closely alongside Baz (Brendon McCullum) to take the team back to where it needs to be.’
On the reasons behind his decision he added: ‘It was quite clear that this tournament was going to be important results-wise for my captaincy.
‘Obviously two losses and being out of the tournament, with a bit of a hangover of some tournaments before, I’ve reached the end of the road for me and my captaincy.
‘Which is a shame, I’m sad about that and obviously with Brendon coming in only recently I was really excited to be working closely alongside him and hope for a very quick turnaround and take the team forward.
‘It’s not quite worked out that way so it feels like it’s the right time for me and also for the team to have a change.
The overriding emotions are sadness and disappointment. I’m sure in time that will pass and I can get back to really enjoying my cricket and I’ll be able to reflect on what an immense honour it is to captain your country.’
Buttler will remain in charge for the final group game against South Africa after announcing his resignation.
The devastating batsman has not been able to produce his best form of late during England’s struggles and admitted after the Afghanistan loss that he was not sure why.
‘If I knew I probably wouldn’t be playing the way I am,’ he said.
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‘I don’t feel far away, obviously, but at my best I’m one of the best players in the world and it’s disappointing if you’re not reaching that level.’
Buttler took over as white ball captain in June 2022 and had won the T20 World Cup in Australia before the end of the year.
Things have gone downhill since then, though, in both 50-over and the shortest form of international cricket.
He holds a record of just 18 wins from 44 ODIs as captain, with 26 wins from 51 T20s.
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