England have named a 16-strong squad for their upcoming T20I series against India.
The Eoin Morgan-led side will play five T20Is in Ahmedabad from Friday, March 12 onwards.
Liam Livingstone is the one addition to the squad which beat South Africa 3-0 at the end of 2020. He played a key role in Perth Scorchers’ run to the Big Bash League 2020/21 final, finishing seventh on the overall run-scorers charts, with three half-centuries. He played as an opener during Perth Scorchers’ campaign, but could be a candidate to play the finisher’s role which England have struggled to fill
There’s no space for two other Englishmen who starred in the BBL. Alex Hales topped the run charts with 543 runs and striking at 161.60 to boot, but his continued exile from England’s international set-up continues unabated.
James Vince had a middling campaign up in the group stages but came to life in the playoffs, smashing 98 not out and 95 in his last two innings to guide Sydney Sixers to the title. The late charge saw him finish just six runs behind Hales in the run charts, but his underwhelming white-ball form for England – he is yet to score more than 60 in an innings in 26 ODI and T20I knocks – means he misses out too.
The squad is a full-strength one, despite England’s rotation policy aiming to give all their all-format players a rest at some point during the winter. With Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Sam Curran, Mark Wood, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes all missing part of England’s six-Test stretch against Sri Lanka and India, the only player without a designated period of time away is Moeen Ali. He may well miss the three ODIs which follow the T20I series, part of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League.
England T20I squad to face India: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
