KOLKATA: England captain Jos Buttler said on Tuesday he wants to build an “alliance” with new white-ball coach Brendon McCullum, as they named their side for the first of five T20 Internationals in India.

Ben Duckett will open alongside Phil Salt, who will also keep wicket for the match at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on Wednesday. Harry Brook was named Buttler’s deputy.

England’s first white-ball assignment under McCullum, who was previously in charge only of England’s Test side, also includes three ODI matches.

The series will be followed by the eight-team ODI Champions Trophy starting on Feb 19 in Pakistan and Dubai.

Buttler said he is looking “to build that coach-captain alliance” after McCullum forged a successful partnership with Test skipper Ben Stokes.

“It’s not a new set-up as Baz [McCullum] has been around for a while,” Buttler told reporters on the eve of the T20 opener.

“There’s a lot of players in this squad that have been with him in the Test set-up for a number of years already.

“I’m just looking forward to building that relationship in the white-ball set-up.”

Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav said he already shares good chemistry with coach Gautam Gambhir, having played under the former batsman in the Indian Premier League.

“I know how he works — without talking he can read your mind,” said Yadav, who played at IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders with Gambhir as captain.

Gambhir “keeps it simple” and gives the players “freedom” to express themselves, Suryakumar added.

“I have played under Gauti for four years. I have spent a lot of time with him, I know how he works. Even he knows how to talk to each other. It started from the Sri Lanka series... We are moving in the right direction.

England continued with Buttler as white-ball captain despite a disappointing ODI World Cup in India in 2023 when the defending champions won only three of their nine matches.

Last year, the 34-year-old Buttler struggled with a calf injury. He will be playing in India as a batsman only with Salt taking over the gloves starting with the T20s.

Jofra Archer leads a pace-bowling unit that includes Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson.

Buttler spoke up for players having their families with them on tours, after the family time of Indian players was restricted following their recent 3-1 Test defeat in Australia.

“I think it’s great to be able to have families on the tour with you, to live that life out with your family as well,” he said. “I don’t think it affects the cricket too much, I think it’s something that is very manageable.”

ENGLAND XI: Ben Duckett, Phil Salt (wicket-keeper), Jos Buttler (captain), Harry Brook (vice-captain), Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2025