England’s Jos Buttler (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) The T20 World Cup 2026 has been a campaign that England senior batsman Jos Buttler has so far forgotten. The veteran right-hander allowed just 62 runs in seven innings, including five consecutive single-digit scores. He started the tournament with 26 against Nepal and 21 against the West Indies, but his returns have plummeted since then. His struggles continued in the Super 8 clash against New Zealand in Colombo, where he was dismissed for a duck, caught behind by Lockie Ferguson. In the last five matches against Scotland, Italy, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand, Buttler scored 3, 3, 7, 2 and 0, for a total of just 15 runs.
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Despite the slim patch, England captain Harry Brook has given his predecessor his full support. Brook challenged critics to consider Buttler’s long-term contribution to English cricket, going so far as to describe him as the best white-ball player the game has seen. “A lot has been said about Jos. I said the other day he’s made 150 for England in T20Is and people will probably have to back off a bit from that. He’s probably the best white-ball player to ever play the game. He’s in a bit of a rut now but I think that’s an exciting thing for everyone in the world to see what he can do in the next few games. “Obviously he’s got a lot of fire in his belly and he wants to go out there and show everyone what’s in him. Look, average 34 strikeouts at 145 in 150 games. He’s a phenomenal player and I have no doubt he’ll go out there and do well,” he added. England have Ben Duckett as an alternative should they decide to make the switch. However, Brook’s comments suggest Buttler will feature in next week’s semi-final in Mumbai against either India or the West Indies. The dip in form is not limited to this tournament. Across England internationals and S20s, Buttler has scored just one half-century in his last 24 innings. His previous fifty in the ICC competition came during the 2024 T20 World Cup when he made an unbeaten 83 against the USA.
