ICC T20 World Cup 2022: England will be desperate to conquer Pakistan and win its second title in Melbourne on Sunday. Meanwhile, Jos Buttler feels the win would allow its football side to win the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
English skipper-cum-wicketkeeper-opener Jos Buttler would be a proud captain if his team could win the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Final versus Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday. Also, he feels that it can inspire its footballing counterpart to pull off an encore in the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Buttler, a victor batter, has led his unit to the summit clash as England captain in his maiden world event.
Asked if the football crew can take a leaf out of the cricket faction, the soft-spoken skipper said: "Yeah, I certainly hope so. Sport is such a huge part of English culture, and getting behind teams in World Cups is certainly something I know happens a lot in England. Even though we're on the other side of the world, you can certainly feel that support."
England is clubbed with Iran, Wales and the United States of America (USA) in Group B of the Qatar World Cup. "The images you see of the Euros nothing will compete with football in our country. Of course, the game will be on free-to-air television, which is fantastic. It will bring new eyes to the game," Buttler reckoned.
However, Buttler doesn't think that fans would be observing the tie on the big screen at Trafalgar Square at 8 AM British Standard Time (BST), but the television (TV) sets will be turned on since there is a revived attraction in cricket after England's ICC World Cup 2019 success.
"We saw that benefit in 2019 with some images of people watching that game and Trafalgar Square being packed out and stuff. I am not sure they'll be getting up at 8:00 in the morning to get to Trafalgar Square, but I am sure there will be plenty back home wishing us well, as we do to the other teams that you mentioned who have got some big games ahead of themselves, as well," Buttler concluded.
(With inputs from PTI)