Harry Brook appointed as England's white-ball captain

In an attempt to script a turnaround in their form, England have onboarded Harry Brook as the new white-ball captain. The overhaul shapes up after Jos Buttler relinquished his position earlier in February this year. England have been toiling through troubling times in the white-ball formats for quite some time now. Identifying his exit point from the role, Buttler left captaincy following the ICC Champions Trophy. Now, with over a month since the wicket-keeper batter's exit, the England and Wales Cricket Board have found the team's next leader in Harry Brook. The batter takes the post after spending half a decade as the team's vice-captain in the shorter formats under Jos Buttler.

Harry Brook suceeds Jos Buttler as England's white-ball captain

Eoin Morgan, the captain who led England to the 2019 ODI World Cup victory, left his spot up the top prior to the 2022 T20 World Cup. Jos Buttler started his career as England's white-ball captain on a high, leading the team to the T20 World Cup victory. However, long into his role as the leader, the victory remained as the only achievement for the team in the shorter formats. In a downfall ever since, England under Buttler marked early exits from the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, their exit from the league stage of another ICC championship served as the final nail in the coffin. After England lost to Afghanistan to bow out of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, Buttler stepped down from his post.

The onus then fell on the ECB to find his successor. Buttler's exit led to extended discussion, with even the name of their Test skipper Ben Stokes coming up. The all-rounder announced his ODI retirement in 2022 but tracked back on his decision to play the 2023 ODI World Cup. However, the Test captain has not played any white-ball cricket since the tournament. Still, Stokes' name remained just a topic of discussion, as Harry Brook marked his way from being the vice-captain to England's captain now.

Recently, Harry Brook pulled out of IPL 2025, citing his need to focus on his national duty at the "most important" time for England Cricket and his career. His decision, which has now materialized into Brook winning the captaincy, resulted in the batter being banned from IPL for the next two seasons. Ever since his international debut in January 2022, the 26-year-old has become an integral figure in England’s white-ball setup.

Over the past year, he has served as vice-captain in both ODIs and T20Is, even stepping in as stand-in captain during the ODI series against Australia last September when Jos Buttler was unavailable. Brook’s leadership experience extends beyond the senior side, he previously captained England at the 2018 ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand.

So far, he has featured in 26 ODIs, amassing 816 runs at an average of 34.00, with a top score of 110. In the shortest format, he has 44 T20I appearances to his name and was a part of the squad that clinched the ICC T20 World Cup title in 2022. The batter, meanwhile, expressed his gratitude on being selected as England's white-ball captain.

"It’s a real honour to be named England’s white-ball captain. Ever since I was a kid playing cricket at Burley in Wharfedale, I dreamed of representing Yorkshire, playing for England, and maybe one day leading the team. To now be given that chance means a great deal to me," said Brook.