"Jos Buttler won’t survive as captain" - Former skipper's brutal declaration after England's group-stage exit in Champions Trophy 2025

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has made a candid statement about Jos Buttler's white-ball captaincy after their defeat to Afghanistan in the 2025 Champions Trophy. With Buttler at the helm for three consecutive unsuccessful ICC tournaments, Vaughan asserted that he won't survive as captain.

England's Champions Trophy campaign ended on Wednesday in Lahore as Afghanistan consigned them to a shocking eight-run defeat. The keeper-batter was also in charge of the national team when their 2023 World Cup campaign finished in the group stage and they were eliminated from the semi-finals in the T20 World Cup 2024.

Writing in his column for The Telegraph, the 50-year-old stated that England's problems run much deeper and it won't be easy to solve these issues.

"Given he has been part of three failed ICC tournaments in a row, Jos Buttler won’t survive as captain. The 50-over World Cup was a complete shemozzle for many reasons, then the T20 in the Caribbean was limp, and cost Matthew Mott his job. This time, with another defeat to Afghanistan, Buttler will be the scapegoat. But let’s not kid ourselves that it will suddenly change everything, because England’s problems run much deeper," Vaughan said.

Vaughan also feels they didn't celebrate the era of Eoin Morgan's captaincy enough, claiming:

"We probably didn’t fully appreciate the impact of Eoin Morgan, or the brilliance of his combination with Trevor Bayliss. They whacked it with the bat, but they were smart with bat and ball. Now, it’s just run in and bowl as fast as you can."

The Englishmen had announced one change for the crucial fixture, bringing in Jamie Overton for the injured Brydon Carse. However, they still ended up conceding 325 and Joe Root's 120 went in vain. Ibrahim Zadran, who made a record-breaking 177, stood out along with Azmatullah Omarzai's fifer.

"We need some dedicated white-ball players" - Michael Vaughan on England's issues

Michael Vaughan. (Image Credits: Getty)

With Vaughan stressing how data-driven white-ball cricket has become, he believes England are going back to the same old era by following their gut. He wrote:

"England give off the impression that they are the opposite. Brendon McCullum has been charged with bringing a great vibe and going on gut feel, but is that the answer? They have united the coaches, the backroom team and now the players. Before 2019, we used to pack the Test team with white-ball players. Now we pack the white-ball team with Test players! We need some dedicated white-ball players, dedicated Test players, then a small group of maybe three or four who command a place in all formats."

The 2005 Ashes-winning skipper added:

"It is time to accept the approach isn’t working. They have lost 18 in 25 ODIs and nine out of 10 white-ball games this year. To get back to their best they are going to have to think a bit more deeply than just rocking up and playing."

Buttler and Co. still have one game to go in the eight-team tournament when they face South Africa on March 1.