Jos Buttler wants to be his own man as England white-ball captain but reasoned he would be “naive” if he did not occasionally call upon the wisdom of predecessor Eoin Morgan.
England begin the post-Morgan era on Thursday with the first of three Twenty20s in the space of four days against India at the Ageas Bowl, where Buttler will make his debut as full-time limited-overs skipper.
As understudy to Morgan, and one of his most loyal disciples in England’s white-ball renaissance after the 2015 World Cup, Buttler is unlikely to diverge from the blueprint that has brought so much success.
Buttler admitted there may be instances when he needs the counsel of his friend but, having taken charge of England on 14 occasions in the past, he believes he is ready to stand on his own two feet. “He is one of my closest mates,” Buttler said. “So I know any time that I need, I can lean on him to ask a few questions and it’s clear the way everyone speaks about him what a great captain he is. “It would be naive of me to not try and lean on him at certain times.