England retained the 15 players who were picked for the T20I series in South Africa which they won 3-0 and added Livingstone, who had a good stint with the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League, to the squad. Livingstone’s recall over James Vince, who did a remarkable job for eventual champions Sydney Sixers, perhaps stems from the camaraderie he shared with incumbent England opener Jason Roy at the Scorchers.

Ed Smith, the national selector, clarified that Livingstone was also in the team as a possible part-timer option, calling him a “dynamic cricketer – a good fielder, bowler and exciting batsman”.

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There’s no recall for Alex Hales, who was unceremoniously dropped in the build-up to the 2019 Cricket World Cup after failing two tests for recreational drug use. He was BBL’s highest run-getter this season for the Sydney Thunder.

Jonny Bairstow, Mark Wood, Moeen Ali and Jos Buttler, each of whom missed a part of the Test series in India, return to the T20I squad.
The T20I squad members outside the Test bubble will depart for India on February 26. All five matches in the series will be played in Motera, Ahmedabad, where the last two Test matches are scheduled.

Among the non-travelling reserves is Danny Briggs, a late addition following a good season in the Big Bash League. He last played in the format for England in 2014.

England T20I squad for India series

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

Reserves: Jake Ball, Matt Parkinson

Non-travelling reserves: Danny Briggs, Will Jacks, Tom Helm