Jos Buttler’s bat hasn’t been scoring many runs at ICC events lately, but England is counting on their white-ball legend to produce a game-winning performance against India in Thursday’s second T20 World Cup quarterfinal in Mumbai.
Buttler had a terrible ODI World Cup in India in 2023, and so far in the T20 World Cup, nothing has gone according to plan for the 35-year-old, who has hit a ton of runs in the IPL, including the 2025 edition.
Although he has only managed one fifty-plus score in his last four ICC events—the 2023 ODI World Cup, the 2024 T20 World Cup, and the Champions Trophy last year—England is not concerned about his form.
Buttler’s style of play has also been hampered by the pitches, which have been slower in this competition, particularly in Sri Lanka.
Buttler sought to establish his rhythm against the spinners during an hour-long net practice two days prior to the semifinal at Wankhede. The out-of-form starter received excellent practice from Adil Rashid, Will Jacks, and Liam Dawson, and he might find his groove again in a stadium he knows well.
He targeted the straight boundary against left-arm spinner Dawson, tried slog sweeps off Rashid, then blasted the ball to the cow corner area when Jacks turned his arm over. Buttler walked to the opposite side of the main square to face throwdowns after taking on the England spinners.
All-rounder Sam Curran backed his close friend to perform well against India.
“Jos is someone I’m pretty close to. He obviously wants more runs. But I certainly would rather have Jos Buttler in my team than coming up against him on Thursday night. I think he’s such a quality player. He’s done so well for us over many, many years.
“And he’s done well on this ground many, many times as well. So hopefully Thursday night is his night. But if it’s not, there’s no question he’s one of the best in the world. So him and Salty (Phil), such a dangerous opening partnership. And I guess we hope Thursday night they can get us off to a really good start There’s no doubt that he’ll come good and we’re not worried about him at all,” PTI quoted Curran as saying.
Curran’s remarks were in line with those of his teammates, notably captain Harry Brook, who believes Buttler is in a bit of a rut but that it won’t be long before he fires.
“There’s been a lot said about Jos. I said the other day that he’s played 150 (154) games for England (in T20Is) and people probably need to take a little step back from that. He’s probably the best white-ball player to have ever played the game.
“He’s in a little bit of a rut now, but I think that’s an exciting thing for everybody in the world to know what he could produce in the next couple of games,” Brook had said after the game against New Zealand in Colombo.
For the time being, England is firmly believing in their most seasoned batter.
