Courtesy: ICC/ECB
Following a tough defeat by eight runs against Afghanistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Group B clash, England were eliminated from the race of making it through to the semi-finals of the tournament. Following their second straight loss in the Champions Trophy, England captain Jos Buttler has hinted that he will be deciding his future as the leader of the white-ball setup in the near future rather than taking an emotional decision in the moment.
Notably, at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, England allowed Afghanistan to put 325/7 total on the board, an above par score despite Jofra Archer’s initial burst yielding three wickets in no time. Ibrahim Zadran played an innings of his life, scoring 177 runs in just 146 balls with 12 fours and three maximums, to give the bowlers more than something to work with, and following the dismissal of Joe Root for 120 in 111 in the run chase, Afghanistan won thanks to a five-wicket haul from Azmatullah Omarzai.
I'm not going to make any emotional decisions right here, right now: Jos Buttler
In the post-match interview, Jos Buttler, the captain of England, who is 34 years of age, sounded quite disappointed after his team’s 12th defeat in just 16 ODI matches, and remarked, as per BBC Sport, “We need to consider all possibilities and get English cricket back to where we should be in white-ball cricket. Personally I need to work out, am I part of the problem or the solution?”
After losing against India in India in a ODI series 0-3 earlier this month, Jos Buttler was under pressure to deliver the goods for England not just as a captain, but also in the batting side of things in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, but it wasn’t to be. In regards to his future as player and captain, he said, “I'm not going to make any emotional decisions right here, right now. I'll take some time to work that out personally and the guys in charge will have their own views, too.”
England will be playing their final Group B match in the Champions Trophy at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi on Saturday, March 1, against South Africa, who could make the semi-final of the tournament with a victory.
