Will England drop Jos Buttler for the semi-final? Harry Brook issues defiant message

The T20 World Cup 2026 has been a campaign to forget so far for England’s senior batter Jos Buttler. The experienced right-hander has accumulated only 62 runs across seven innings, including five consecutive single-digit scores. He began the tournament with 26 against Nepal and 21 versus the West Indies, but his returns have dipped sharply since then.

His struggles continued in the Super 8 clash against New Zealand in Colombo, where he was dismissed for a duck, caught behind off Lockie Ferguson. Across his last five outings against Scotland, Italy, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand, Buttler has managed scores of 3, 3, 7, 2 and 0, totalling just 15 runs.



Despite the lean patch, England captain Harry Brook has thrown his full support behind his predecessor. Brook urged critics to consider Buttler’s long-standing contribution to England cricket and went as far as describing him as the finest white-ball player the game has seen.

“There's been a lot said about Jos. I said the other day that he's played 150 games for England in T20Is, and people probably need to take a little step back from that. He's probably the best white-ball player to have ever played the game. He's in a little bit of a rut now, but I think that's an exciting thing for everybody in the world to know what he could produce in the next couple of games,” Brook said at the post-match presentation.

“He's obviously got a lot of fire in the belly, and he wants to go out there and show everybody what he's made of. Look, he averages 34 striking at 145 in 150 games. He's a phenomenal player, and I have no doubts he'll go out and do well,” he added.

England have Ben Duckett available as an alternative should they opt for a change. However, Brook’s comments suggest Buttler is set to feature in the semi-final in Mumbai next week against either India or the West Indies.

The dip in form is not limited to this tournament. Across England’s internationals and the S20, Buttler has registered just one half-century in his last 24 innings. His previous fifty in an ICC event came during the 2024 T20 World Cup, when he struck an unbeaten 83 against the USA.


Get the latest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 updates, including the full schedule, teams, live scores, points table, and key series stats such as top run-scorers and wicket-takers.