London: Skipper Jos Buttler has been ruled out of England’s T20I series against Australia due to a setback in recovering from a right calf injury. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said it places his participation in the ODI series against Australia, happening later this month in doubt.
ECB further announced that Phil Salt will be assuming England captaincy duties for the T20I series in Buttler’s absence while all-rounder Jamie Overton has been drafted into the squad. Salt had captained the Manchester Originals in The Hundred this season after Buttler was ruled out due to a calf injury while preparing for the competition.
Jordan Cox, who is currently with the Test squad for the last match against Sri Lanka starting at The Oval on Friday, has been added to the ODI squad as cover. The three-match T20I series between England and Australia is set to begin next week at Rose Bowl, Southampton on September 11.
The subsequent five-match ODI series between the two teams is scheduled to start on September 19 at Trent Bridge, in what is seen as the start of a new era for England after failing to defend their ODI and T20 World Cup titles.
After the sacking of Matthew Mott, England will be coached by Marcus Trescothick in an interim capacity for the Australia series before handing over the charge to Brendon McCullum at the start of 2025.
England T20I squad: Phil Salt (captain), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Adil Rashid, Jamie Overton, Reece Topley, and John Turner
England ODI squad: Jos Buttler (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Reece Topley, John Turner, and Jordan Cox
–IANS