England’s Jos Buttler likely to miss third T20I against Pakistan

CARDIFF: England’s white-ball captain Jos Buttler is likely to miss the third T20I of the four-match series against Pakistan, an international media outlet reported.

According to the report, Buttler left for London after spearheading England to a comfortable 23-run victory over Pakistan in the second T20I in Birmingham.

The England captain and his wife Louise are expecting the birth of their third child soon.

Notably, Jos Buttler was absent from England’s training session in Cardiff on Monday afternoon and is unlikely to feature in the third T20I against Pakistan, scheduled on Tuesday evening.

Moreover, it is uncertain whether Buttler will return in time for the final T20I against Pakistan but as things stand he is most likely to accompany the England squad on their departure for the West Indies for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 on Friday.

Earlier, England’s vice-captain Moeen Ali, who has led the side in 12 ODIs and T20Is, stated that nothing will change if he assumes the England captaincy role in Jos Buttler’s absence.

“I feel I’ve captained enough for England,” Moeen said.

“I’ll be fine. Nothing will change too much, it’s just taking over from what he’s doing and then when he comes back, he takes over.

“Hopefully, the baby comes at the right time where he doesn’t miss too many games.

“For me, it’s just whatever will happen, will happen. It’s not really difficult, to be honest with you, because we speak often, me and Jos. We talk about other things, the team and all that. We’re on the same page anyway.”

Pakistan squad:

Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Usman Khan.

England squad:

Jos Buttler (c), Phil Salt, Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Tom Hartley, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Reece Topley.

Pak vs Eng T20I remaining series schedule:

3rd T20I: Tue, May 28th

4th T20I: Thu, May 30th