ICC World Cup 2023: 'England have to leave him out now!' Nasser Hussain urges Jos Buttler to show no mercy after shock defeat to Afghanistan

Appalled by defending champions England's shock defeat against Afghanistan as the first stunner of the ICC World Cup 2023, former England captain Nasser Hussain felt that Jos Buttler may have been lenient against Afghanistan with his playing 11 selection.

The former middle-order batter, in his column for the English tabloid Daily Mail, felt the England captain is adamant about playing pace all-rounder Chris Woakes while it's clear the rival is not in form and needs to be dropped.

He further added that England, who have now lost two of their first three games, as the defending champions need to show up and treat every match like a final, starting with using their best playing 11 in every match as no team is easy in World Cup.

"Chris Woakes is completely out of nick - that has been evident in all three matches so far. He has been very un-Woakeslike. England have to leave him out now," wrote Nasser Hussain. "Now is not the time for any kind of emotion or loyalty. Buttler tried to get Woakes into the tournament by keeping him on against Bangladesh when he might have taken him off, but there can be no sentiment in selection at this point."

He also stressed that in order to go the distance in the ICC World Cup 2023, England need Ben Stokes in the line-up and fit as England must aim to win the remaining six of their matches to have enough points on the board and not depend on in-form South Africa or New Zealand to slip.

"It is possible six wins from nine will be enough to make the semi-finals again but, because of the emergence of South Africa as a force, because New Zealand are playing good cricket and because England's net run rate has taken a battering, they need to focus on finishing the round-robin stage with seven victories," Nasser Hussain wrote.