On Wednesday, October 2, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced a strong 14-man squad for the upcoming white ball. series Against West Indies National Cricket Team.
The Three Lions are all set to tour the West Indies for a three-match ODI series and a five-match T20I series. England and West Indies will play each other in ODI matches on 31 October, 2 November and 6 October at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.
After 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, St Lucia.
In a big boost for England, white-ball captain Jos Buttler is all set to return to competitive cricket for the series. He was sidelined with a calf injury and last played for England in the T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final.
In the absence of Jos Buttler, the T20I captaincy was given to Phil Salt. Harry Brooke He led the team in the ODI series against Australia. Although Jos Buttler is back in the side, there is no clarity on whether he will keep the wickets. Recently, Buttler stated that he is willing to step down from the wicketkeeping duties to improve some things in his game, including captaincy.
Yorkshire leg-spinner Jafer Chohan has won his first England call-up
Yorkshire leg-spinner Jafer Chohan has been called up to the England squad for the first time and alongside him, John Turner and Dan Mousley are the two white-ball wicket-takers.
“Yorkshire leg-spinner Jafer Chohan has won his first England Men’s call-up, becoming the first South Asian Cricket Academy graduate to be selected for the England Men’s squad,” the ECB said in a press release.
It should be noted that the South Asian Cricket Academy was established in 2021 by Dr. Tom Brown to address the under-representation of British South Asian players in the professional game.
Also, Jafer Chohan is one of the 10 players to transition from the scheme to the professional game. The leg-spinner was superb with the ball in the last edition of the Vitality Blast, where he scored 17 at 15.52. He also 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 West Indies tour from the squad that will travel to Pakistan for the Test series.
The additions will be made after the England squad for the third and final Test against Pakistan has been selected. According to ESPNCricinfo, Jordan Cox and Jamie Smith are the two players to be added to the squad.
England white ball squad for West Indies series: Jos Buttler (c), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Jafer Chohan, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmud, Dan Mousley, Jamie Overton, Adil RashidPhil Salt, Reece Topley, John Turner.
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