‌Buttler steps down as captain amidst England’s horrendous Champions Trophy outing

Ahead of their last fixture in the group stages against South Africa, Buttler was the center of attention in the press conference. To everyone’s astonishment, the wicketkeeper-batter called time on his leadership duties for the country. The game against South Africa will be his last match captaining England in the white ball format.

"I'm going to stand down as England captain. It's the right decision for me and the right decision for the team. Hopefully, somebody else who can come in alongside Baz will take the team to where it needs to be," Buttler expressed.

The decision comes on the back of England’s elimination from the group stages of the ensuing Chapions Trophy. After a narrow defeat against Australia, where they allowed their arch-rivals to chase down 351 runs, the European nation incurred a thumping defeat against Afghanistan. During the dying end of the clash, Buttler and Root were seen emotional as Afghanistan clinched an eight-run win, their second win against the nation in an ICC ODI event.

Buttler succeeded Eoin Morgan as England’s white ball skipper in 2022 and went on to triumph in the T20 World Cup in Australia. Since then, the side lost three white ball ICC events under Buttler with the Champions Trophy seeing the conclusion of his regime.