Jos Buttler

Profile details

FULL NAME

Jos Buttler

TEAMS

Gulf Giants

A World Cup-winning captain

Jos Buttler's career is the story of modern white-ball cricket. He was part of the England side that won the 2019 World Cup, then captained the side to the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022, where his opening partnership with Alex Hales and his own unbeaten 80 in the semi-final against India carried England to the title. He has scored more than 3,000 T20 international runs for England, hit hundreds in Tests, one-day internationals and T20 internationals, and played in the IPL for a decade, where his 863 runs in the 2022 season for Rajasthan Royals remains one of the great IPL campaigns.

• Role: Wicketkeeper
• Team: Gulf Giants
• Batting: Right-handed
• Born: 8 September 1990

He has also been one of the most innovative batters in the game: the ramp, the scoop, the reverse sweep played as a scoring shot rather than a gimmick — Buttler played them all before they were fashionable, and the rest of the sport followed. The Giants have made him their captain because he is the best white-ball cricketer in the league, and the one the other stars look to.

What the captaincy changes

Buttler captains the strongest batting order in the league on paper: himself, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and Liam Livingstone, plus Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran at the top. His job is to make that batting order a unit rather than a collection of stars — to decide who bats where, who takes the powerplay, and who finishes — and to manage a bowling attack that has been rebuilt around the Joseph brothers. Simon Helmot coaches the side; Buttler runs it on the field.

With the bat, he is most likely to open, where his powerplay scoring sets the tone, and he will keep wicket as well. That is a heavy workload for a captain, but it is the one he has carried for England for years. His calm under pressure is the Giants' greatest asset in close games.

The best top order in the league

Gulf Giants' batting is the reason they are among the favourites: Buttler, Klaasen, Miller and Livingstone in one team is a luxury no other side has, and if the pitches in Dubai play true, the Giants will post — and chase — totals the rest of the league cannot match. The question is whether the batting covers for the bowling, and whether the attack can defend the totals the batters set.

What’s next

The Giants open away from home, with their new captain leading them out in Sharjah: Sharjah Warriorz on Sunday 22 November, in the afternoon.

• Match 2 — vs Sharjah Warriorz: Sunday 22 November 2026, afternoon session, Sharjah.
• Match 5 — vs MI Emirates: Tuesday 24 November 2026, evening session, Dubai.
• Match 10 — vs Dubai Capitals: Saturday 28 November 2026, evening session, Dubai.

Qualifier 1 is on Tuesday 16 December, the Eliminator on Wednesday 17 December, Qualifier 2 on Friday 18 December in Sharjah, and the final on Sunday 20 December in Dubai.

See the ILT20 Schedule page for every fixture in the season. Results land on SialTV as they happen, with the points table updated after every match day.