England begin their white-ball era under Brendon McCullum in a Twenty20 series against India beginning in Kolkata today with the coach promising the same attacking brand of cricket that has been the hallmark of his coaching.
McCullum injected an aggressive approach to the test squad after taking over in 2022, with Matthew Mott continuing to coach England in the shorter formats.
However, Mott stepped down last year after England failed to defend their T20 and 50-overs World Cup titles in the space of seven months across 2023-24 and McCullum was tasked with reviving their limited-overs fortunes.
“Obviously, we want to win every game we play, to try and be successful, and that’s ultimately the mission for us,” McCullum said ahead of his first white-ball series in charge, which includes five T20 Internationals and three one-dayers.
“I’m desperate for us to play a really watchable brand of cricket. With the talent we have, there’s no reason why we can’t.
“We’ve got a batting line-up which is as powerful as any batting line-up in the world. We’ve got gun spinners, very good fielders and guys who bowl absolute rockets with the ball, so you’ve got options there to be able to entertain and give yourself the greatest chance of success.”
The former New Zealand captain is convinced Jos Buttler’s “best years are yet to come” and said the England captain would not be keeping wickets, with Phil Salt likely to stand behind the stumps in the T20 matches.
World champions India will be keen to see how seamer Mohammed Shami fares in his return to international cricket after more then a year out nursing an ankle injury that required surgery.
Captained by Suryakumar Yadav, the squad are without pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who is recovering from back spasms.
The seamer is expected to play at some stage of the three-match ODI series between the sides that follows the T20 matches and will lead India’s attack in the Champions Trophy beginning next month.

England’s Buttler wants ‘alliance’ with new coach
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 T20s in India.
Ben Duckett will open alongside Phil Salt, who will also keep wicket for the match at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens today. 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 February 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,” he added.
“I’m just looking forward to building that relationship in the white-ball set-up.”
India 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.
“The way his coaching style is, we are moving in the right direction.”
He said Gambhir “keeps it simple” and gives the players “freedom” to express themselves.
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.”