Brendon McCullum optimistic about Jos Buttler returning to Test side

England’s newly appointed Test head coach Brendon McCullum hinted at the possibility of a return for Jos Buttler to the Test side after his phenomenal form in the recent IPL 2022 edition for Rajasthan Royals. The 31-year-old last played a Test for England in the 0-4 loss to Australia in the Ashes earlier this year and was subsequently dropped from the squad due to his poor returns.

In fact, Buttler hasn’t quite enjoyed the red-ball format, with just two centuries to his name in 100 innings which is way below his usual standards when compared to limited-overs cricket. Buttler hasn’t been picked for the upcoming New Zealand home Test series and instead Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes have got the nod. However, with McCullum taking over the responsibility, there could be a way for Buttler and also the T20 specialists to enter the Test arena again as he himself was a master of it for New Zealand in his prime.

No reason why you can’t bring T20 skills into Test cricket: Brendon McCullum

McCullum wondered how Buttler can be so dominant in T20 cricket and not excel in the longest format and felt that other talented cricketers need to be given more chances too. He added that the T20 skills can be utilized in Tests as well, referring to the current form of Buttler in the IPL, and felt that the likes of Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, and Moeen Ali have a lot to offer in all formats. He concluded that the transition could be done though it might not be easy.

“Jos is one of those players you look at instantly and think how could he be so dominant in one form of the game and not quite have found his feet, other than a few fleeting performances, in Test cricket?,” McCullum was quoted as saying by NDTV Sport.

“There’s certainly guys you look at and think there’s a lot of talent that could improve the side given the right opportunity. There’s no reason why, if you’re good at T20, you can’t bring those skills into Test cricket and you look at some of the guys who have dominated the IPL in the last two months.”

“Obviously you’ve got the likes of Livingstone, Moeen, Rashid. All these guys have played international cricket before, been successful in the other forms of the game and you’d think they’d be able to transition across,” he added.