On Wednesday 2 October, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced the 14-man strong squad for the upcoming white-ball series against the West Indies National Cricket Team.
The Three Lions are set to tour the West Indies for a three-match ODI series and a five-match T20I series. The English team and the West Indies will face each other in ODI matches on October 31, November 2 and 6 and the matches will be played at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.
Following the conclusion of the ODIs, the T20I series will begin on November 9 at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados. The next four matches are scheduled to be played on November 10, 14, 16 and 17 at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, and Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia.
In a big boost for England, white-ball captain Jos Buttler is set to return to competitive cricket for the series. He was out of action with a calf injury and last played for England in the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final.
In the absence of Jos Buttler, the T20I captaincy passed to Phil Salt, while Harry Brook led the team in the ODI series against Australia. Although Jos Buttler has returned to the team, it is unclear whether he will keep wickets. Recently, Buttler stated that he is willing to give up wicketkeeping duties to improve certain things in his game, including captaincy.
Yorkshire player Jafer Chohan earns first England call-up
Yorkshire player Jafer Chohan has been called up to the English team for the first time and, along with him, John Turner and Dan Mousley are the two non-international players in the white-ball team.
“Yorkshire player Jafer Chohan earns his first England Men’s call-up and becomes the first South Asian Cricket Academy graduate to be selected for an England Men’s team,” the ECB said in a statement. press.
Notably, the South Asian Cricket Academy was launched in 2021 by Dr Tom Brown with the aim of remedying the under-representation of British South Asian players in the professional game.
Furthermore, Jafer Chohan is one of the 10 players who have transitioned from the scheme to the professional game. The player was excellent with the ball in the recent edition of Vitality Blast, where he bagged 17 wickets at 15.52. Furthermore, he recently signed a three-year contract with Yorkshire.
Meanwhile, the ECB has announced that two more players will be added to the white-ball squad for the team’s West Indies tour as they travel to Pakistan for the Test series.
The additions will be made after the selection of the English team for the third and final Test against Pakistan. According to ESPNCricinfo, Jordan Cox and Jamie Smith are two players who will join the team.
England white-ball team for the West Indies series: Jos Buttler (c), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Jafer Chohan, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, John Turner.
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