England skipper Jos Buttler said he wouldn't like to make any "emotional statements" on his captaincy but "all possibilities" are on the table after his side was shockingly eliminated from the Champions Trophy by Afghanistan in Lahore on Wednesday.
A listless England, barring Joe Root who smashed a century, suffered an eight-run defeat against the Afghans, and it pushed them out of the marquee event prematurely.
Chasing 326 for victory, England were bundled out for 317 with Afghanistan batter Ibrahim Zadran smashing a superb 177 and pacer Azmatullah Omarzai grabbing a five-wicket haul.
"I don't want to say any emotional statements right now. But I think for myself and the other guys at the top, we should consider all possibilities," said Buttler in the post match presentation on his future as the England white-ball skipper.
This is the third successive failed ICC tournament campaign by England under Buttler's captaincy after the 2023 World Cup in India and the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Americas.
England had suffered a humiliating 69-run loss to Afghanistan in the group stage of the 2023 Cricket World Cup in New Delhi.
Buttler acknowledged that Afghanistan batted really well in the last 10 overs, which made things uphill for his side.
"They got away from us there in the last 10 overs. Credit to Ibrahim (Zadran), he played a fantastic innings. If we look back and reflect, 113 off the last 10 pushed them up to a score that was a very good score on that pitch."
The skipper praised Root for the way he kept his cool under difficult circumstances to score his 120.
"He played an unbelievable innings tonight. The way he handled pressure in a run-chase. He needed one of the other top six batters to stay in with him and take the game deeper."
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