'If It's Two Different People, Then Great Too': McCullum Hints At Split ODI, T20I Captaincy

'If it's two different people, then great too': McCullum hints at split ODI, T20I captaincy (Image Source: IANS)

T20 World Cup: England will now have to make crucial leadership decision after their disappointing Champions Trophy campaign as head coach Brendon McCullum addressed the captaincy issues, hinting that England may opt for multiple skippers or identify one player to handle the captaincy of both the ODI and T20I teams.

Jos Buttler made a tough decision to resign as captain following England's early exit from the Champions Trophy 2025 in the group stages. His final match of the campaign ended with a heavy defeat at the hands of South Africa on Saturday.

It leaves big decisions for McCullum and England to make crucial decisions on who will be leading the side after Buttler's resignation. England have not had three separate captains since Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook and Stuart Broad led the Test, ODI and T20 sides, respectively, from May 2011 for just over a year.

"We’ll work it out over the next few weeks. We’ll make sure we have a good look at how the structure looks, how things are placed, and what each side needs. And if it's the same person, then great. If it's two different people, then great too.

“We've obviously now got a structural change which is going to take place... and then with that they'll bring some of their own ideas and want to stamp their own style on things. So, there'll be a natural evolution of the team," McCullum told reporters.

McCullum has said England will take stock of the situation in the coming weeks and then move to appoint a successor. England's next white-ball assignment starts against the West Indies on May 29 and the next ICC global event is the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in February and March 2026.

“I'll get home in the next couple of days and then start to think about it, and start having some conversations with (England's cricket manager) Rob Key and the guys at the ECB about who is the right person for us,” McCullum continued.

“Then what do they need and how do we start to learn some of the lessons that we've been dealt on this tour and in this tournament to ensure that we're a lot more competitive than what we've been.

“It's a matter for us as coaches and leaders to try and get the best out of that and to try and bring the right combination of players together for the task at hand. And that's what's in front of us over the next little while, which is exciting.

“We're going to find out pretty quickly ways to be able to make sure that our team walks out there a lot more confident than what we are at the moment.”

Reflecting on England's dismal run in the Champions Tropy, the coach pointed to a lack of self belief from his players for their winless tournament run.

"I felt that we lacked confidence and I thought today was another example of that. Sometimes guys are a little bit low on confidence and we don't necessarily get the output that we want and hence why you find yourself on the outside of the tournament.

Reflecting on England's dismal run in the Champions Tropy, the coach pointed to a lack of self belief from his players for their winless tournament run.

Article Source: IANS