PAK vs ENG: Buttler happy to take learnings from sidelines

Jos Buttler

England's white-ball captain Jos Buttler said he has been learning a lot from the sidelines in the seven-match T20I series between Pakistan and England.

Buttler has been recovering from a calf injury that he sustained while leading Manchester Originals in The Hundred 2022. He is yet to play a single game in the ongoing series as he has not been declared fit by the medical staff. Buttler however has indicated that he might feature in the last two T20Is after missing the first five T20Is.

Speaking ahead of the sixth T20I in Lahore, which will be a must-win for England in order to level the series and force a decider on Sunday, 

Buttler stated it's unique for him to observe the game and learn from it without playing.

“It’s a unique situation, to be able to be here not playing but observing. I’m learning lots just listening to the group and watching the way the guys go about things, certainly I’m watching the game without as much emotion involved, thinking about what you would do at certain times," 

Since the start of the tour, there was uncertainty over Buttler's participation in the seven-game series, still, he chose to travel, partially to continue his rehabilitation work ahead of next month’s World Cup and also to lean into the responsibility of leadership. The wicketkeeper batter hailed the stand-in captain Moeen Ali for leading the team brilliantly in his absence.

"We’re spending lots of time together here in Pakistan, brilliant for us all to be together. Moeen (Ali) has been fantastic. I’ve asked him to lead and take it on as if he’s the captain and he’s been great around the group, as he always is, and really impressive on the field.”

While it's most likely that Buttler may not feature during England's remaining two matches against Pakistan in Lahore, England still has a further four warm-up games in Australia prior to their opening match of the T20 World Cup that their skipper could potentially play in.

Also Read: Dilip Vengsarkar feels Umran Malik should've been a part of the World Cup squad