They flew south-west on Monday afternoon and will have two days off in Mumbai before tuning up for Saturday's fixture at the Wankhede Stadium. South Africa, their opponents, will have a shorter lead-in and will not arrive in the city until Wednesday, following their fixture against Netherlands in Dharamsala.

"That's cricket, that happens. Not every time you go out are you going to smash sixes and fours We're not too concerned: it's just a game that we lost." Asked if England had lost their aura over the last four years, Rashid said: "I don't think that's fair. I think that's pretty unfair."

England are the holders of both white-ball World Cup titles and in both tournaments, lost games early before going on four-match unbeaten streaks to lift the trophy. Before addressing his players, Buttler said that they could draw on similar experiences. "Everyone will be disappointed in the dressing room and let that sink in," he said.

"But there's a lot of guys who have been through lots in their careers in there as well, and guys who have come back from tough situations and shown a lot of character and resilience. It's a very tight-knit group, so we'll get around each other and pick each other up, and down ourselves down and go again.

"We've played some good cricket in all scenarios, whether we've been on top and front-runners and fancied, or whether we've had our backs against the wall. It's a position you find yourselves in. It's not the position you wanted to be in three games ago, but the character is excellent. There'll always be belief."

Buttler would not be drawn on the prospect of sweeping changes for Saturday's fixture - "it's too early to say," he said - but it seems increasingly likely that Ben Stokes will be available after recovering sufficiently from a left hip injury. "He wasn't fit for this game, but we'll see how he pulls up for the next one," Buttler said. "He was close."

He also pushed back against the suggestion that England had "underestimated" Afghanistan, or approached the game with any complacency. "I think that's a very unfair thing to say," he told the BBC. "We knew it was going to be a tough challenge. We know they are a very, very talented team - but that being said, we're obviously disappointed."

Rashid played the defeat down: "It's part of cricket. You win some, you lose some. You can't win every game and today, we just lost a game. We didn't play our best cricket with bat or ball, or in the field. We've still got plenty of games in hand; hopefully, we can put in some good performances and kickstart the competition.

"We're still confident; we're still backing our players; we still have that positive frame of mind," Rashid added. But unless they see signs of a recovery in Mumbai this weekend, England's supporters are unlikely to share those sentiments.