Who will be England's next ODI & T20 captain?

The search for a new white-ball captain commences after Jos Buttler decided to step down from the role following England's group stage elimination at the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.

Named skipper following Eoin Morgan's retirement in 2022, Buttler conceded that his position as captain would be on the line if England were to suffer a third successive white-ball tournament disappointment.

Beaten by Australia in their opening contest, defeat against Afghanistan saw the Three Lions crash out in underwhelming fashion.

With Buttler now departing his leadership position, we look at the players who could potentially succeed him as white-ball captain.

Harry Brook

Harry Brook was named white-ball vice-captain at the start of 2025 and has long been touted as Buttler's successor.

The Yorkshire star deputised as captain in Buttler's absence during the ODI series against Australia in September and even sampled captaincy during last year's edition of The Hundred, where he led the Northern Superchargers.

However, Brook assuming leadership of the white-ball teams would likely compromise his position with the Test side and given his importance to the ambitions of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes in the format, it will be interesting to see which route Brook pursues if the decision arose.

Phil Salt

Where Brook inherited captaincy duties for the ODI series against Australia, it was Phil Salt who indulged in the responsibility while Buttler was sidelined for the IT20 matches against the Aussies.

Salt has emerged as an integral feature of both white-ball teams and is not burdened with the additional duties of Test cricket. As the saying goes, there's no better ability than availability.

Like Brook, Salt captained the Manchester Originals during The Hundred and the immensely talented Lancashire batter has demonstrated an appetite for a leadership role in the future.

Liam Livingstone

Buttler's injury absence at the end of 2024 also provided Liam Livingstone with the opportunity to captain the ODI team in the series against West Indies and the Lancashire all-rounder thrived with the responsibility.

Livingstone found himself out of the reckoning for England's ODI series against Australia in September but plotted a route back into the team with two explosive innings in the 20-over format.

A lack of consistency has frequently undermined Livingstone but the 31-year-old has showcased on multiple occasions he possesses the skillset to win England matches off his own accord.

On his experience as stand-in England captain, Livingstone said: "I've always said I know I'm good enough to play for England but maybe I needed more responsibility than I was getting."

Sam Curran

If you were to have asked this question two years ago then Sam Curran would have been a no-brainer.

Player of the Tournament during England's 2022 World Cup triumph, over 100 England caps across all three formats and a prominent role in the success of the Oval Invincibles in The Hundred.

Yet at 26, Curran's career has stagnated to the point his omission from England's Champions Trophy squad wasn't massively surprising.

Curran will be desperately seeking a return to the England setup and if he can do enough to perk the attention of McCullum, the Surrey all-rounder is capable of plotting a path to captaincy in the future.