Jos Buttler, who led England to the 2022 T20 World Cup triumph in Australia, has resigned as captain following his side’s early exit from the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in the group stages.

“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.

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“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.”

Buttler, who ended his tenure with Saturday’s match against South Africa, has been captain of his country on 96 occasions, leading England in 45 one-day internationals and 51 IT20s. He is the third man to captain England to victory in an ICC tournament, winning the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Reacting to the announcement, England coach McCullum said, “I feel incredibly sad for Jos. We’ve all seen over the last couple of years how much he has invested in captaining his country and trying to get the very best out of those guys around him.”

“People forget he won the World Cup a couple of years ago, and that can never be taken away from him. He’s done a significant job, often without his best players available, so it is incredibly unselfish of Jos to step aside and to leave the post to someone else.

“He is still a huge player for us moving forward and I’m sure we’ll look at ways to get the best out of him so he has maximum impact as well,” he added.

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,” he said.