New Delhi, March 18 (IANS) England wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler has expressed hope that the T20 World Cup semi-final loss to India was not the final chapter of his international career, though he acknowledged that there are no guarantees regarding selection for England’s upcoming white-ball series in July.

Buttler endured a difficult World Cup, scoring just 87 runs across eight innings and managing only one half-century in his last four ICC events. Despite this, he remains optimistic about being part of England’s home summer, which includes five T20Is and three ODIs against India.

“I hope so. I don't know. Obviously, I had a poor tournament, which is disappointing, but I've been playing some of the best cricket of my (career) in recent years, so hopefully I can get back to playing my best. I certainly have ambitions (to continue playing for England) but no longer being a captain, I'm not a selector and whatever, so what will be will be. Yeah, we will see,” Buttler said on his podcast ‘For the Love of Cricket.’

Following the tournament, Buttler took time away from cricket, spending a week with his family in France to reset mentally before returning to India to prepare for the IPL season with the Gujarat Titans.

“I couldn't have been further away from cricket, which for me at the time was just perfect. It's exactly what I needed. Obviously the tournament didn't go personally how I'd have liked it to go, and I just felt like I needed some space from cricket and not to think about the game, and I could not have been further away from cricket where I was in that week,” he stated.

“It was really refreshing - I really enjoyed it, a complete sort of release. And slowly but surely, I'd say at the start of this week, (I am) just starting to reflect a bit and have a few thoughts about what's important to me and my cricket, and why it probably didn't go quite as I would've liked.

"There's elements (to what went wrong) that I actually don't really know exactly. For all your best intentions and hard work and efforts to perform, it just didn't work, and sometimes that's okay as well. That's something I've had to realise. It wasn't for a lack of effort. It just didn't quite happen,” he added.

Buttler also praised England’s management, defending the team environment created by Harry Brook and Brendon McCullum, and acknowledged India’s dominance in the knockout stages.

“Harry Brook and Brendon McCullum had created a fantastic environment at the World Cup. India were a serious team and worthy winners,” Buttler said, recognising the quality of the opposition.

--IANS

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