Jos Buttler, who was initially named in both of England’s white-ball squads against the West Indies, will only play the T20I leg of the tour as he continues to recover from a calf injury.
Buttler has not played any cricket since the T20 World Cup, after sustaining a calf injury while preparing for the Hundred. An initial scan was inconclusive but he was eventually ruled out of the tournament and is yet to feature in a game since.
Buttler also missed the Australia white-ball series in September, but was expected to return for the first match in the Caribbean. Now, he will now also miss the start of England’s white-ball series against West Indies, beginning on October 31. Michael Pepper, a 26-year-old wicketkeeper-batter who scored two centuries in the 2024 T20 Blast, has been called-up as his replacement. Pepper is uncapped at international level, with the West Indies being his first call-up to an England squad.
Liam Livingstone will act as captain for the series in Buttler's absence, as they play three ODIs against the West Indies. The last two ODIs will be on November 2 and November 6. This will be the first time that Livingstone will lead England in any format. Harry Brook captained England during the ODIs against Australia, but he is unlikely to feature in the series due to his involvement in the Tests against Pakistan.
Buttler, however, will return and lead the five T20Is, which will begin on November 10.
England’s squad for the West Indies ODIs and T20Is:
ODI squad: Liam Livingstone (captain), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Jafer Chohan, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, John Turner, Michael Pepper.
T20I squad: England white-ball squad vs West Indies: 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.
*Two players from the England-Pakistan Test squad will be added later.
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