T20 World Cup: England ready to take on aggressive India, insists Jos Buttler

Jos Buttler has warned his England team to expect a different India tomorrow than the one they stunned in the semi-final of the last T20 World Cup.

After being eliminated less than 45 minutes after being knocked out of the tournament in the group stage, the defending champions found their form.

Two years ago, at this time, England produced one of their best T20 performances when they crushed Rohit Sharma’s side by 10 wickets in Adelaide. The defeat, however, has prompted India to fundamentally rethink their passive approach to the format, and Buttler has no doubt that the tournament favorites will pose a more formidable challenge to Guyana.

“We are playing against a very different Indian team here,” the England captain said. “The way Rohit leads his team and the way he bats, they play with a lot of freedom and try to be very aggressive.

“It was probably a change for them after this tournament (2022) and they also played like that in the 50-over World Cup. They are very confident in this style of play and we will have to be ready for that. We we know they will be aggressive and we will be the same.”

Preparing for tomorrow afternoon’s match has been a logistical nightmare. India always knew they would play their semi-final in Guyana if they reached the quarter-finals.

England, by contrast, remained in limbo until the full quarter-final line-up was confirmed, and the paucity of flights and accommodation at Georgetown meant that almost no English fans or media attended. was able to make the trip.

Added to the uncertainty are poor weather forecasts and the bizarre fact that while the other semi-final, between Afghanistan and South Africa tonight, has a day in reserve in case of rain, this is not the case for England. A washout would see India advance by finishing top of their Super Eight group.

“You can only control what you can control,” Buttler said. “We’ll just have to wait and see and be ready for any situation. Usually when people talk about the weather, you end up getting the full game.”