Wicketkeeper-batsmen Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow were on Thursday named in a 16-member England squad for the five-match T20I series against India. There was no place in the team for all-rounder Chris Woakes and explosive top-order batsman Alex Hales.
Buttler has gone back home after the opening Test against India, which the visitors won by 227 runs, while Bairstow has been rested for the first two Tests of the four-match series as part of England’s rotational policy.
Liam Livingstone has also returned to the squad after a brilliant Big Bash League (BBL) season for the Perth Scorchers. He scored 426 runs in 14 innings, at a brilliant strike-rate of close to 134.
Tom Curran and Sam Curran also return to the squad after being rested for Test series while Adil Rashid is the other spinner in the touring party along with Moeen Ali. Also, Chris Jordan, Mark Wood, and Reece Topley form the pace attack with Archer, who might be rested at some point during the ongoing Test series.
The No. 1 T20I batsman, Dawid Malan, is also in the squad while Jake Ball and leggie Matt Parkinson are named in the reserves as of now. All the five T20 Internationals will be played at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad, starting from March 12.
The England players will travel to India on February 26. Both the teams are also scheduled to play three ODIs, following the conclusion of the T20I series.
England’s T20I squad:
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) (captain), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Sam Billings (Kent), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Tom Curran (Surrey), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Ben Stokes (Durham), Reece Topley (Surrey), and Mark Wood (Durham).
Reserves: Jake Ball (Nottinghamshire) & Matt Parkinson (Lancashire)