Jos Buttler has developed a pattern lately.
England batter Jos Buttler has made a slow start to the T20 World Cup 2026. While he has had starts in both games against Nepal and West Indies, Buttler hasn’t converted them into big scores and departed on scores of 26 & 21. During the latest game against the Caribbean, he was dismissed by Roston Chase in the seventh over, failing to judge the length early.
This has been a common trend in Jos Buttler’s game – off-spinners have troubled him excessively since last year. He has an average of 13.50 and a strike rate of 150 against this bowling type since 2025. Additionally, Buttler has been dismissed eight times and has played around 33.33% dot balls.
In this phase, Maheesh Theekshana has removed him twice in 12 deliveries. Meanwhile, the likes of Roston Chase, Chris Green, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Michael Bracewell, Prenelan Subrayen, and Matthew Montgomery have dismissed him once each. Almost all of these are among the best off-spinners in T20s.
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Buttler has also been dismissed against other spin types, with leg-spinners and left-arm orthodox also getting him eight times each. However, he has averaged 35.85 and 32 against them, respectively. The dismissals are bound to be high, given the amount of cricket he plays, but his issues have only been limited to off-spin lately.
Jos Buttler’s issues have mostly come in subcontinent conditions, where he has faced slightly tacky conditions and failed to get going. In Asia, Buttler’s average against off-spin falls to 11.75, and he has been dismissed four times in nine innings. One of the dismissals also came in SA20 2026 in Durban, where spinners have had ample assistance this time around.
While surfaces have not been flat anywhere in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026, Sri Lanka has produced more spin-friendly tracks, with the ball not coming nicely on the bat. England will play all their Super 8 matches, where they are expected to qualify, in Sri Lanka – two in Pallekele and one in Colombo. England will face Pakistan and Sri Lanka, assuming both have high chances of qualifying, along with New Zealand, in the Super 8 round.
All three sides boast quality spin bowlers, with two of them playing all their matches of the tournament in Sri Lanka. So, they will have an idea about the conditions and will be better suited than English batters. That’s where Buttler’s problems will exacerbate, and he might fail to provide solid starts from the top.
Additionally, England’s opening pair – Jos Buttler and Phil Salt – will become a bit predictable, since both have developed problems against spinners. Even Salt hasn’t been as fluent against slow bowlers, and treacherous Sri Lanka pitches will add to his issues. Buttler must work on this area soon, or else England will unlikely qualify for the knockout phase of the T20 World Cup 2026.
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