Jos Buttler named England's white-ball captain

Jos Buttler has been named England's new white-ball captain, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Thursday.

Buttler has been handed the captain's armband following the retirement of World Cup-winning skipper Eoin Morgan, who led the English side from 2011 to 2022. The Ireland-born cricketer led England to their maiden World Cup in 2019.

The decision to make Buttler the limited-overs captain was taken by the ECB Interim Chair, Martin Darlow, and Interim Chief Executive Officer, Clare Connor on Wednesday evening following the recommendation by the Managing Director of England Men's Cricket, Rob Key, according to a release from ECB.

Jos Buttler: Greatest honour to captain my country

"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. There are lots of things that I have learnt from him that I'll take into this role. 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. It is the greatest honour to captain your country, and when I have had the chance to step in the past, I have loved doing it. I can't wait to take this team forward," said Buttler after being appointed as England captain.

Buttler has been with the England national side for over a decade now, having played close to 300 games, across all formats. He made his England debut in 2011 during a T20I against India in Manchester. He made his ODI debut a year later in the UAE against Pakistan. The 'keeper-batsman has been an integral part of the set-up, having been vice-captain since 2015 and has led the team 14 times previously (Nine ODIs & five T20Is).

The 31-year-old is one of three England cricketers (Dawid Malan and Heather Knight) to have scored hundreds in all three formats of the game.

Having played 151 ODIs, Buttler has scored 4,120 runs at an average of 41.20, scoring 10 centuries and 21 fifties.

With 2,140 runs in 88 T20Is, Buttler is the 12th leading run-scorer in the shortest format, while he is the second leading-run scorer for England after Morgan in the T20Is. The Lancashire batter has scored one century and 15 fifties in the T20Is for England.

Buttler's first assignment as England's full-time captain is their upcoming six-match limited-overs home series against India, including three ODIs and as many T20Is. The series is scheduled to go underway on July 7 at The Rose Bowl, Southampton.