Buttler & Co. look to revive England after recent white-ball setbacks

England haven't had the best of times in limited-overs cricket in the last couple of years. A seventh place finish and an early exit in the 2023 ODI World Cup was followed by a semifinal loss to India in the 2024 T20 World Cup. They have moved on from Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Reece Topley, Sam Curran and Chris Jordan, to name a few, and have infused new blood with as many as eight members in the current squad yet to play a T20 game in India.

Brendon McCullum has taken over as all-formats head coach of the team, and Jos Buttler has moved to the middle order. In this backdrop, England have arrived in India to play a five-match T20I series, which will be their only preparation in this part of the world ahead of the T20 World Cup next year which will be played in India. The three-match ODI series that follows will help them build towards the Champions Trophy next month.

Skipper Buttler, however, isn't looking too far ahead, stressing that the series will be about building relationships in their group. "(The focus is) to obviously build that coach-captain alliance. Obviously it's not a new set-up because Baz [McCullum] has been around for a while and obviously there's a lot of players in this squad that have been with him in the Test set-up for a number of years already. So, yeah, just looking forward to building that relationship in the white-ball set-up. It's going to be a great series against a really top side in their own conditions.

"We haven't spoken much about those things (Champions Trophy and 2026 T20 World Cup) yet at all, really. We're just very focused on the here and now. It's a really exciting tour coming to India with what I'd say is a full line-up for us. Sometimes there's so much cricket that certain players have to be rested or managed, but that's certainly not the case for us at all in this series. So we've got a full complement of players, which is really exciting. Obviously, Baz is coming into the white-ball set-up for the first time, so there's plenty to look forward to in the here and now," insisted Buttler.

England's current squad boasts numerous power-hitters and significant depth in their batting lineup due to the inclusion of multiple all-rounders. This is a key requisite for sustained success in T20 cricket, with the cushion lower down the order allowing teams to go on an all-out attack.

"I think we're really blessed actually in terms of the bowlers that we have here on this tour are all very, very capable batsmen," said Buttler. "If you look at guys like Gus Atkinson with a Test 100, Brydon Carse is an excellent hitter of the ball and guys, even Adil Rashid sometimes is down at 11 who's got multiple first-class 100s.

"So, yeah, I think we're very fortunate in that sense that a lot of our bowlers are very, very capable batters and that gives a lot of depth to the 11 and confidence to the guys at the top that there's plenty to come so we can be really aggressive and not worrying too much about our wicket because we've got guys behind us that can do exactly the same job."

Buttler also lauded Jacob Bethell's rapid ascent in international cricket as the youngster has become a key component of the England team in all formats of the game. The 21-year old left-hander, who debuted late in 2024, has already registered six half-centuries across formats and has also proved handy with the ball.

"Really exciting," Buttler said about Bethell. "All credit to him. I think he's been someone in English cricket that's been talked about for a while, known for the talent that he possesses. Even when he's been playing in the under-19s, he was a name that you'd hear talked about, that he's going to be a special player. All credit to him. He's done brilliantly well coming into international cricket. He's got a good head on his shoulders and obviously he's got the game for it, as we've seen in the white ball stuff. And then obviously moving into Test cricket, it was fantastic to watch him in New Zealand. He's been playing really well and this is again a new challenge for him, playing in India, and one I know he's excited for.

Meanwhile, the England skipper emphasised on the importance of having families with the team, especially on long tours. "I think it's important. I think that we live in a day and age now which is a very modern world and I think it's great to be able to have families on the tour with you and try and enjoy that and enjoy, you know, not just for you as a player, but to live that life out with your family as well.

"There's a lot of cricket, people spend a long time away from home and I think post-COVID, all that's sort of been highlighted as well. So, absolutely, I don't think it affects the cricket too much. I think it's something that is very manageable and it's, you know, personally from my point of view, I think it's really important to try and be able to share that with your family and lighten the load on being away from home," opined Buttler.