After the 2015 World Cup England needed players like Jos Buttler with an aggressive approach. His brilliance made England do the unthinkable and he quickly became the best White-ball cricketer of the generation. Fans would once hope wickets fall soon so they could see Jos Buttler and in turn see a big score form on the board.

The Semi-Final though was a chance in setting. Fans once waiting for wickets to fall to see Buttler were now hoping for his dismissal sighting it as a positive sign for England's cause. Throughout the World Cup he has looked uncharacteristically scratchy. Possibly the first time he has struggled in white-ball cricket the Semi Finals was evidence of struggle. He made 25 but looked very scratchy and could not force anything in a game where 499 runs were scored.

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Buttler's struggles were clearly not due to lack of intent but it was more out of lack of confidence in one's abilities. His entry was once a nightmare for opponents but this time India may well have hoped he hung around with the way he was struggling. His numbers have been very scratchy in the last few years, with only one fifty across the last four ICC Events.

Buttler the batter has been one reliant on hand-eye coordination and using angles in the field. At 35, hints of that on the wane look evident. He missed 7 out of 17 deliveries in the Semi-Final and was out of shape for most of his shots, very edgy. His numbers have been on the wane with Franchise form not helping him as well. Around him the other England batters were striking rather comfortably all tournament. 

Once the trump card in Eoin Morgan's line-up, Buttler now stands an outlier. He is the only one left from that era in the shortest format  and the struggles are evident. His fifty overs numbers has not been the greatest as well with his last hundred coming in 2023 and with him also demoted to number six after the arrival of Jacob Bethell.

Is his best behind him? At 35, he has time. He also has the IPL which will hopefully be a chance for him to rediscover his form. Digging himself out of the current hole though is important both for him and England as he remains one of their greatest white-ball talents in history.