Buttler: We haven't been good enough for long enough

England's limited-overs captain Jos Buttler admits to Sky Sports the side "haven't been good enough for long enough," adding results do matter irrespective of potential aims to take pressure off players. 

England have been beaten in six of their seven matches on the white-ball tour of India, with a 4-1 defeat in the T20 series followed by four-wicket losses in the first two one-day internationals.

Buttler's side will be aiming to avoid a 50-over whitewash in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, before turning their attention to the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the UAE, which is live on Sky Sports from February 19 to March 9.

Speaking to Sky Sports duo Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton on the latest episode of the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, Buttler said: "There's a multitude of reasons why we haven't played as well as we'd have liked over a period of time. But I don't want to make any excuses.

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"Ultimately, we have to play better. You come up against the best sides, try and build the team, the familiarity within ourselves, the partnerships in batting, bowling, the collective effort in the field and just raise it.

"We haven't been good enough for long enough in periods of games to get the results. That's been the main thing, and that's what we've got to try and work out how to do.

"Once you get that momentum and have the opposition under pressure, how do we keep that for longer? How do we make sure we drive that home and win games?

"As much as you try and say the results don't matter or try and take pressure off players like that, of course they do. That's why we're all here.

"We want to play games and win games for England and ultimately win tournaments. No one wants to win as much as I do or the other side does. But we're very realistic about where we're at as a team at the minute.

"Baz [head coach Brendon McCullum] has just come into this with the white ball side, away to India. That's a tough start whatever cycle you're at as a side. We're very much looking forward, trying to make sure we accelerate that learning and ultimately just play better."

England's tournament opener is against Australia in Lahore on February 22 before further group games against Afghanistan (February 26 in Lahore) and South Africa (March 1 in Karachi).

Buttler was full of praise for the impact McCullum has had already.

"It's been great to work with Baz. I've really enjoyed spending time with him and getting to know him and letting him really lead the team. One of his great strengths is keeping the guys pretty level and creating a really good atmosphere.

"So although the results haven't been there, which is disappointing, he keeps pushing us in the right direction, staying very committed to the style of cricket we want to play. Everyone's just very aware you've got to do it better against the top teams.

"We've got a bit of a relationship already. I've known Baz for a while, played against him, got to know him pretty well. So that's always a nice base to start from.

"We see the game pretty similarly as well. Like all relationships, it takes time but I've really enjoyed spending time with him, picking his brains.

"Baz just has a really clear way that he works. He's very committed to the style he wants to play. From his time as Test coach, he doesn't really get blown off course from his beliefs. I've been really enjoying that."

'There's more depth in India than anywhere else in the world'

To highlight India's own depth, Abhishek Sharma - who thumped a stunning 54-ball 135 in the final T20 international against England in Mumbai - did not even make the ODI squad, where Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill command places.

Later in the podcast episode, Buttler said of India...

"There's more depth in India than anywhere in the world. That's obvious to say. I think the IPL has been an unbelievable academy for that, for local players here to experience huge crowds, huge pressure.

"I don't think any of us can quite understand the weight of expectation that is on these players out here. The guys are A-list celebrities and there's huge expectation to go out and score runs, and huge competition. You can only play 11 guys and they could easily put out two international teams I'd say.

"They're always going to produce great cricketers. It's always going to be a tough challenge, but it's not a surprise they're going to produce brilliant cricketers.

"You look at the T20 side, they've got ready-made guys to step up and become the next superstars and even more people behind them to do it again."

Watch every match from the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy live on Sky Sports between February 19 and March 9 or stream with NOW.