LONDON:
Former England captain Jos Buttler said he still wants to play for the national side after taking a break from cricket in the wake of their semi-final exit from the Twenty20 World Cup.
The 35-year-old managed only 87 runs in eight matches at the tournament as England were eliminated by India earlier this month, and he has recorded only one half-century across his last four International Cricket Council events.
Buttler said he hopes to be part of England’s squad when they host India for a white-ball series in July but knows selection is out of his hands.
“Obviously I had a poor tournament, which is disappointing, but I’ve been playing some of the best cricket of my (career) in recent years, so hopefully I can get back to playing my best,” he said on his podcast For the Love of Cricket.
“I certainly have ambitions but no longer being a captain, I’m not a selector and whatever, so what will be will be. We will see.”
Buttler spent time with his family in France after the tournament and said cricket was the furthest thing from his mind.
“Obviously the tournament didn’t go personally how I’d have liked it to go, and I just felt like I needed some space from cricket and not to think about the game, and I could not have been further away from cricket where I was in that week,” he added.
While questions were raised over England coach Brendon McCullum’s position following the team’s 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia as well as their World Cup exit, but Buttler backed the leadership group and T20 captain Harry Brook.
“There’s lots happened to him over the last six months – great performances, a few off-field things – and he’s dealt with that really well and led very well as a captain in his first ICC tournament as captain,” Buttler said of Brook.
“I’m obviously hopeful that England cricket can stick with them and move forward.”
Buttler travels to India this week to join Gujarat Titans ahead of the new Indian Premier League season, which begins on March 28.
