England captain Jos Buttler opens up on World Cup 2023 prep, Ben Stokes’ loss

Star all-rounder Ben Stokes played his last ODI for England on July 19. The 31-year-old, in his retirement note, said that playing all three formats ‘was not sustainable’. He will now concentrate on Tests, where he is captain, and T20Is. 

While Stokes leaves fans with sweet memories of the 2019 ODI World Cup, filling his shoes is going to be a massive task for England. Jos Buttler was made the captain of the limited-overs teams after Eoin Morgan retired. The wicketkeeper-batter’s stint started off with a series loss against India. 

Also read: Ben Stokes replies to Virat Kohli’s comment on his retirement post

England then tied the ODI series against South Africa. Buttler still awaits his first series win as captain. 

When asked, how does the team look to cover the loss of Stokes, Buttler, as quoted by Sky Sports, said, “We have to be realistic with where we are as a team in the ODI format. It is about building towards that World Cup in India [in 2023]. What will we need in the conditions out in India?. We have had a bit of change in the recent past, but we have also got a lot of very experienced players as well, who are natural leaders in the team anyway.”

Also read: Axar Patel helps India clinch series vs WI in another nail-biting finish

The next ODI World Cup will be played in India in 2023. England are defending champions and would want to only build on that reputation. 

“It is about drawing a line in the sand, looking forward to that next World Cup and building a team to try and win it. When you lose a genuine all-rounder in Ben you are probably always going to feel short in either batting or bowling. Now we have time to work out which way we want to go and give guys an opportunity to stake a claim for that place,” he added.

However, Buttler will now look to lead the team in the T20 World Cup that will take place in Australia in October. The team is scheduled to play a three-match T20I series against South Africa, starting July 27. 

Also read: Watch: Shreyas Iyer grabs a stunner to dismiss Rovman Powell

“Hopefully they are going to be some great matches. Looking at some of the grounds we are playing at, there should be some really high-scoring games as well, which will be exciting. I think some of the batters are hoping for some really good wickets, as we have had some challenging white-ball conditions this year, whereas England in recent years has generally been very favourable for batting. That has been a good learning curve.”

“With a World Cup just round the corner, we have guys trying to stake a claim for a place in that 11,” he concluded.