WI vs ENG: Rehan Ahmed throws his weight behind 'unbelievable captain' Jos Buttler amid lean run

After England's four-wicket loss to the West Indies in the first ODI of the three-game series at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, spinner Rehan Ahmed stepped up to defend England skipper Jos Buttler's leadership. This comes amidst criticism aimed at 33-year-old’s captaincy from former skipper Alastair Cook, England’s leading Test scorer.

Cook had raised questions about Engaland skipper's handling of resources against the West Indies, particularly regarding the potential utilisation of Will Jacks’ off-spin during the middle overs to ease pressure off the seamers. Contrary to this criticism, Ahmed praised Buttler as an outstanding captain, emphasising England's competitiveness until the very end of the first ODI.

“Jos is an unbelievable captain. It’s just his call. We were in a great position by the end of it. It wasn’t like there were bad decisions throughout the game. I don’t think you can put anything down to Jacksy not bowling. I felt like we were always in the game even right to the end. We just didn’t execute at the end. We were always still in the game,” said Ahmed as quoted by Belfast Telegraph.

Rehan Ahmed dubs Jis Buttler as best white-ball player 

While Rehan was among the wickets for England in the first ODI, he recognized his skipper's ongoing struggle with the bat and further lauded the right-handed batter as possibly the best white-ball player. The wicket-keeper batter, however, has been grappling with a dry spell in his batting performance, including a disappointing World Cup campaign both as a batter and leader.

“Every time I bowl to him in the nets, he smacks me everywhere. Some people can be short of runs sometimes but he’s still Jos Buttler. He’s probably the best white-ball player I’ve bowled to,” Ahmed said.

Meanwhile, acknowledging his prolonged period of low scores, Buttler himself admitted to his dissatisfaction with the slump in his batting form. His dismissal for 3 off 13 balls in Antigua marked his fifth single-digit score in last eight ODIs, with a stretch of 13 innings in this format without a fifty.