Jos Buttler looked a pale shadow of the man who was at one point England’s most feared batsman and among the best in the world. The out-of-form former England captain’s run at the 2026 FIFA T20 World Cup is: 26, 21, 3, 3, 7, 2, 0: 62 points overall in seven matches@8.85. Just before the tournament, Buttler showed signs of struggling with form and was dismissed for scores of 17, 39 and 25 in the three-match T20I series in Sri Lanka.
At 35, Buttler, who boasts 154 T20Is, is the oldest and most experienced player in the England pack. However, he also appears to be a batsman who looks to be past his prime.
But England, especially their white-ball captain Harry Brook, are not giving up on him. Heading into Thursday’s all-important semi-final clash with hosts India at the Wankhede Stadium, England captain Harry Brook fired back when asked if England were worried about Buttler’s form. Brook also claimed it was a great idea to offer some advice or suggestions to one of England’s greatest ever batsmen.
“Yeah, you don’t need to talk to him too much. I think leaving him alone is probably the best thing you can do. He’s been a strength of a cricketer for many years, as we’ve all seen. I’ve been asked that question a thousand times now and I think there should be no reason to question why he’s in the team,” Brook told a pre-match press conference.
Buttler has played several IPL games at the Wankhede during his stints with various franchises in the IPL – for Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and now Gujarat Titans. He will be one batsman the Indian team will be wary of in Thursday’s semi-final because of his vast experience and knowledge of the conditions. Buttler has struggled for form in recent months, managing scores in the 20s in England’s last three matches in the pre-World Cup series against Sri Lanka.
When asked about his thoughts on the Wankhede Stadium pitch for the semi-final, Brook admitted he had no idea about the pitches and revealed he would have a chat with England head coach Brendon McCullum, look at the stats and make a call on what to call if he wins the toss. “I don’t know. You’re asking the wrong man. I don’t know anything about wickets. I’ll talk to Baz tonight and tomorrow before the game. We’ll look at the stats and see what to do first if we win the toss,” the England captain said.
Brook, who is leading in the T20 World Cup for the first time, directed his way well and took full advantage of Will Jacks’ extraordinary spin in the subcontinental conditions, a special masterstroke. England lost just one match in seven matches, a 30-run defeat to West Indies in the league stage at the Wankhede Stadium.
“Obviously we’ve got a lot of stats, we’ve got a lot of video, we can see where the batsmen are trying to hit the ball, we know the cartwheels and whatnot, we know the matchups, it’s just about trying to play the bowlers to make sure it’s as uncomfortable for their batsmen as possible. They’re obviously a very good side to make it a different, uncomfortable job for them.” Brook said.
As his team-mate and left-arm pacer Sam Curran said recently, Brook believes his team’s best performance of the tournament may be yet to come. Brook admitted that while England have found ways to win as the tournament progresses, the team is yet to produce a “perfect” performance, which he hopes could arrive when they need it most. “It’s a dream come true for most of us to play a World Cup semi-final against our home nation at a very iconic ground. We’re all really looking forward to it,” Brook said.
One of the most exciting white-ball batsmen in world cricket, the 27-year-old Brook led England’s campaign from the front as he hit a blistering 100 off just 51 balls to guide England to a two-wicket win over Pakistan in a tense chase in the crucial Super 8s clash at Pallekele in the T2finals in England.
The England captain insisted his side will approach the match with confidence and freedom.
“Obviously we’re going into the game very confident. We’re playing good cricket. We haven’t played quite the perfect performance and I feel like it’s just around the corner. Hopefully it’s tomorrow night and we’ll go there and play freely and be brave,” he said.
England’s run to the semi-finals was marked by resilience. They have clawed their way out of difficult situations on several occasions to secure dramatic, thrilling victories against Nepal, Pakistan and New Zealand, although they have done well to remain unbeaten at the Super 8 stage.
Brook believes those tense, close finishes have helped England in a competition like the World Cup, with each narrow victory perhaps suggesting they were good enough to go all the way and secure the title. “We’ve won close games in them, which is very important at World Cups. It seems like we’ve never been out of a game so far, and that stands you in good stead at these world competitions.”
Much of England’s success came from collective contributions, but Brook said he now feels a single standout performance may decide the fate of this semi-final encounter.
“All it takes is one of the top seven to get a decent score or one of our bowlers to have an amazing day. It’s been mainly team performances so far, but I feel a big individual performance is coming soon,” the England captain said.
Brook highlighted the fact that the likes of Will Jacks, Tom Banton and Liam Dawson played key roles during the tournament. All these players are flourishing under his captaincy. “For example, Jacksy (Jacks) won four Player of the Match awards at this World Cup,” Brook said. “Dawson played a huge role in a lot of games and Banton won us a few games off the bat. They played their roles beautifully.”
Although out of form, India’s enigmatic player Varun Chakravarthy, still the highest-rated T20I bowler, poses a significant challenge. Brook himself was troubled by Varun on several occasions, most notably during England’s 4-1 defeat by India early last year. But Brook dismissed the notion that England tend to struggle against spin and pointed to the team’s success in Sri Lanka just ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup when they beat the islanders 2-1 in ODIs and 3-0 in the T20I series.
“England always has a bad reputation when it comes to playing spin. But we have a lot of confidence playing on turned pitches. Chakaravarthy is one of the best bowlers in the world and I will try to score as many runs as possible against him,” he said.
Backed by a passionate home crowd and familiar home conditions at the Wankhede Stadium, India start as favourites, a fact Brook acknowledged the scale of the challenge but insisted T20 cricket often throws up surprises. “India were favorites from the start of the competition, as they should be. But T20 cricket is such a fickle game – anything can happen,” felt Brook.
