'He won a World Cup..' - Brendon McCullum praises Jos Buttler for his captaincy

On Friday, February 28, Jos Buttler resigned as the team's white-ball captain, and England head coach Brendon McCullum expressed his deep sadness for the player. Buttler decided to retire from leadership following England's dismal Champions Trophy campaign, in which they were eliminated after losing the first two group-stage matches.

The wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler succeeded the great Eoin Morgan before the 2022 T20 World Cup but after a turbulent year and a half, he resigned. Under Buttler's leadership, England did not place in the top four in the 2023 ODI World Cup, the 2024 T20 World Cup, or the 2025 Champions Trophy. 

McCullum responded to the announcement in a joint press conference with Buttler, stating that following their defeat by Afghanistan in the tournament's opening game, he had a sneaking suspicion about Buttler's choice. Jos Buttler's final game as captain of England in the white-ball format is scheduled for Saturday when they play South Africa in their last group-stage encounter.

"Jos is going to captain tomorrow, so it will be his final game as captain, and the boys will hopefully put on a good show to send him off from his captaincy journey. I want to say I feel incredibly sad for Jos; I think we've all seen over the last couple of years how much he's invested in captaining his country and trying to get the very best out of those guys around him. And people forget that he won a World Cup only a couple of years ago, and that can never be taken away from him," McCullum said in the pre-match press conference.

England will take on South Africa

Before the team's January 2025 tour of India, the former New Zealand player had assumed the role of white-ball coach. McCullum has enjoyed a strong run with all-rounder Ben Stokes with the Test team, but his start with the white-ball team has been a complete opposite. Jos Buttler's selflessness was praised by the coach, who also intimated that replacing the player would be extremely difficult.

In their Champions Trophy last group stage match, England will take on South Africa. England might pull off a last-minute surprise and assist Afghanistan and Australia in advancing to the tournament's semi-finals if they can crush South Africa by a significant score.