England white-ball captain Jos Buttler expressed sympathy for modern-day cricketers’ inability to play all formats due to a hectic schedule. The 32-year-old admitted that as a young player who wanted to play in all versions of the sport, he would have been frustrated.
Harry Brook and Ben Duckett, two players hoping to qualify for the 50-over World Cup in India later this year, made their ODI debuts against South Africa on Friday. Despite this, both are unlikely to play in the ODI series against Bangladesh, which begins on March 1st, a day after the Test series in New Zealand concludes – for which both have earned selections.
Buttler acknowledged the players’ frustration at being forced to remain pigeon-holed as a one-format player due to the packed schedule. The Lancashire cricketer, as reported by the Evening Standard, stated:
“I feel for the players to be honest. There are certain players who have the ability to play all three formats but that is kind of impossible because of the schedules. That is a frustration I would have if I was a young player growing up now, that you don’t want to feel pigeon-holed as a player because the schedule doesn’t allow you to play everything.”
Buttler stated that it is critical to expose players like Duckett and Brook in South Africa because they are unlikely to play in Bangladesh. He went on to say:
“It’s going to be pretty impossible for those guys to be involved in Bangladesh, so it’s really important we expose them here and give them opportunity. We’ve got to use these games here and in Bangladesh to experiment a bit, expose people to playing international cricket. That’s just something we have to manage the whole way through. If we play well, I think we should win games of cricket.”
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