Jos Buttler, the England white-ball captain, has provided an update on his calf injury that ruled him out of the Hundred tournament. This injury is also a huge setback for the England team as they prepare for a T20I series against Australia.
England and Australia will play a three-match T20I series, with the opening match taking place at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
The following two games will be contested in Cardiff and Manchester on September 13 and 15, respectively. Buttler’s absence will be a significant setback for England, which has recently struggled in white-ball formats, particularly in ICC competitions.
Buttler, who has been encouraged by managing director Rob Key to remain as England’s white-ball skipper, took a brief sabbatical from the game following the T20 World Cup.
Key confirmed earlier this week that Buttler would stay as captain after Matthew Mott was fired as England’s white-ball coach, with Marcus Trescothick set to assume the post on an interim basis during the September series against Australia.
Jos Buttler could miss England v Australia T20I series
Jos Buttler, who was set to lead Manchester Originals in the Hundred 2024, is believed to have incurred the injury while training for the Hundred. A first scan proved inconclusive, boosting expectations that he may be ready near the end of the competition, but his withdrawal was announced on Saturday.
“Gutted to be missing the Hundred this year. Best of luck to the Manchester Originals for the rest of the campaign. Working hard to be 100% fit asap [as soon as possible],” Buttler wrote on Instagram.
Buttler has endured many calf ailments in recent years, including a strain two years ago that sidelined him for England’s seven T20Is in Pakistan and jeopardized his participation in the T20 World Cup 2022.
Jos Buttler is arguably England’s most significant player in white-ball formats. The outstanding wicketkeeper-batsman helped England win the ODI World Cup 2019 and the T20 World Cup 2022. The England captain has an outstanding record in both the ODI and T20I formats.
In ODIs, he has 5022 runs in 181 matches at an average of 39.54 and a fantastic strike rate of 117.11. He has scored 3264 runs in 124 T20Is, with an average of 35.86 and a strike rate of 146.30. Many experts consider him England’s greatest white-ball player of all time.