62 off 56. Strike rate of 110.71. 13 runs in the last 3 innings. You’d read these statistics and imagine a lower-order batter. But no. These are the numbers of England’s opener and arguably their greatest T20 batter, Jos Buttler.
Jos Buttler’s batting woes
The wicketkeeper batter wasn’t in the best of touch in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup 2026. Buttler had struggled in a 3-match series against Sri Lanka just prior. But you’d expect him to be one of England’s best performers. Buttler is his country’s highest run-getter in the tournament. And his start wasn’t that bad. A couple of 20s against Nepal and the West Indies. His strike rate was over 150 in both innings.
Since then, Buttler can’t buy a run. He’s faced 25 balls and scored 15 runs. His 14-ball, 7-run knock against Sri Lanka was perhaps his worst-ever innings in international cricket. Buttler looked out of sorts. ‘Form is temporary, class is permanent’ was applied to him. Of course, he’ll bounce back, England thought.
In the Pakistan vs England match in Pallekele, he again looked listless. A close call on the first ball and two balls later, Buttler walked back. Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled a length ball outside off; Buttler threw his hands at it and under-edged it to the wicketkeeper.
It was a nothing ball, a nothing shot, and a nothing dismissal. After 6 innings in the T20 World Cup 2026, Buttler now averages just 10.33. Only two batters have a worse record than him in the tournament’s 19-year history.
Lowest batting average as opener in a T20 World Cup (minimum 5 innings)
- 9.60 – Soumya Sarkar (2016)
- 9.80 – Wessly Madhevere (2022)
- 10.33 – Jos Buttler (2026)*
- 10.83 – Tanzid Hasan Sakib (2024)
Gujarat Titans worried
This isn’t just a problem for England, who want to win the tournament, but also for the Gujarat Titans (GT). In the last Indian Premier League (IPL) season, Buttler was one of the main reasons why Gujarat made the Playoffs. The top three of Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, and Buttler did all of the heavy lifting.
Gujarat had a formidable bowling lineup and just 3 batters. No other player even scored 300 runs in the IPL 2025 season for them. It was them and done. Sherfane Rutherford, who was the next best batter with 291 runs, has been traded to the Mumbai Indians (MI).
Most runs for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025
| Batter | Innings | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s |
| Sai Sudharsan | 15 | 759 | 108* | 54.21 | 156.17 | 1 | 6 |
| Shubman Gill | 15 | 650 | 93* | 50.00 | 155.87 | 0 | 6 |
| Jos Buttler | 13 | 538 | 97* | 59.77 | 163.03 | 0 | 5 |
Titans have added Tom Banton to their side, but it’s still the top three who’ll need to pull their weight. If Buttler isn’t in form, the whole plan would fall apart. The reason why Gujarat managed to win so many matches was that Buttler was the anchor and aggressor. He averaged better and struck quicker than Sudharsan and Gill.
England might be worried with the Super 8 qualification on the line, but Gujarat won’t be pleased watching Buttler fail game after game either.
Gujarat Titans’ squad for IPL 2026
Anuj Rawat (wk), Glenn Phillips (wk)✈️, Gurnoor Brar, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Jos Buttler (wk)✈️, Kagiso Rabada✈️, Kumar Kushagra, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Arshad Khan, Nishant Sindhu, Prasidh Krishna, R Sai Kishore, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan✈️, B Sai Sudharsan, M Shahrukh Khan, Shubman Gill (c), Washington Sundar, Ashok Sharma, Jason Holder✈️, Tom Banton✈️, Prithviraj Yarra, Luke Wood✈️
