Jos Buttler steps down as England cricket team captain

The 34-year-old made the announcement ahead of the team's match against South Africa.

He will stand down after their final match of the campaign, against South Africa on Saturday in Karachi.

"It's the right decision for me, it's the right decision for the team, and hopefully somebody else can come in and work closely alongside [Brendon McCullum] to take the team back to where it needs to be," he said in a press conference on Friday.

"It was quite clear that this tournament was going to be important results-wise for my captaincy," he added, saying that he was sad and disappointed but he felt he had "reached the end of the road."

His side lost their Group B matches against Australia and Afghanistan.

He added: "With Brendon coming in only recently, I was really excited to work closely alongside him and hope for a very quick turnaround and take the team forward, but it's not worked out that way. It feels like it's the right time for me and also for the team to have a change."

Asked whether it felt like a relief to hand over the mantle of leading the team, Buttler demurred, describing it as "an immense honour to captain your country."

He is the third man to captain England to victory in an ICC tournament, winning the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

Robert Key, England Men's Managing Director, added: "Working with Jos has been a pleasure. He’s been dealt some tough challenges, but never once flinched trying to drive this team forward for the better.

"Nobody deserved that World Cup win in Australia more. I can’t wait to see him back in the ranks and at his best."

(With inputs from ICC)