England captain Jos Buttler has said that nobody is thinking about international retirement in their team. England is set to take on India in their first warm-up match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.
ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023: Full Coverage
Speaking to Daily Mail, Buttler said he hasn’t heard anyone in the group talk about international retirement, insisting that the team is focused on winning the World Cup. England come into the tournament as defending champions, having defeated New Zealand in the final in 2019.
“I haven’t heard anything about international retirement from anyone in our group. I don’t think anyone’s thinking that at the moment because they’re focused on the team and playing well at the start of an exciting campaign. But there might be individuals after this World Cup who want to make this kind of decision,” said Buttler.
He went on to say that the team doesn’t need to the pressure of this being the last World Cup for some players. After facing India in Guwahati, England will take on Bangladesh in their second warm-up match at the same venue.
“We don’t need to add pressure by saying this is the last dance or anything like that. We’re looking forward to the World Cup and we’ve got a really strong group of players. Any time you get to represent your country at a World Cup is very exciting and needs your full attention. You don’t want anyone thinking too far past it,” Buttler added.
Following the two warm-up games, England will face 2019 finalists New Zealand in the opening match of the 2023 ODI World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 5.
England’s 15-member World Cup squad:
Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.
