Buttler hopeful of England return despite T20 World Cup struggles

Former England captain Jos Buttler said he still wants to play for the national side after taking a break from cricket in the wake of their ​semi-final exit from the Twenty20 World Cup.

The 35-year-old managed only 87 runs ‌in eight matches at the tournament as England were eliminated by India earlier this month, and he has recorded only one half-century across his last four International Cricket Council events.

Buttler said he hopes to ​be part of England’s squad when they host India for a white-ball ​series in July but knows selection is out of his hands.

“Obviously I ⁠had a poor tournament, which is disappointing, but I’ve been playing some of ​the best cricket of my (career) in recent years, so hopefully I can get back to ​playing my best,” he said on his podcast For the Love of Cricket.

“I certainly have ambitions but no longer being a captain, I’m not a selector and whatever, so what will be will ​be. We will see.”

Buttler spent time with his family in France after the ​tournament and said cricket was the furthest thing from his mind.

“Obviously the tournament didn’t go personally how ‌I’d ⁠have liked it to go, and I just felt like I needed some space from cricket and not to think about the game, and I could not have been further away from cricket where I was in that week,” he added.

While questions were ​raised over England ​coach Brendon McCullum’s position ⁠following the team’s 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia as well as their World Cup exit, but Buttler backed the leadership group and ​T20 captain Harry Brook.

“There’s lots happened to him over the last ​six months – ⁠great performances, a few off-field things – and he’s dealt with that really well and led very well as a captain in his first ICC tournament as captain,” Buttler said ⁠of Brook.

“I’m ​obviously hopeful that England cricket can stick with ​them and move forward.”

Buttler travels to India this week to join Gujarat Titans ahead of the new Indian ​Premier League season, which begins on March 28.