England cricket star Ben Stokes has been excluded from the squad for the Champions Trophy next February and March due to injury.
Stokes, the test captain of England, hasn’t participated in a one-day international since the 2023 World Cup, but he expressed willingness to rejoin the white-ball squad after Brendon McCullum was named head coach for all formats in September.
Nonetheless, the 33-year-old Stokes experienced a reoccurrence of a hamstring issue during the recent test series in New Zealand and was excluded from a 15-player squad for the Champions Trophy revealed by the England and Wales Cricket Board on Sunday.
Stokes had earlier missed the summer series against Sri Lanka at home and the opening match of the three-test series in Pakistan during the fall due to hamstring problems.
Joe Root rejoined the squad after being absent from international white-ball cricket for over a year, and Jos Buttler returned as captain after sitting out the ODI team’s latest series in the West Indies.
Sam Curran, Will Jacks, and Reece Topley were all excluded after not strengthening their cases during the Caribbean tour.
Jofra Archer demonstrated his fitness sufficiently and was selected, along with fellow bowler Saqib Mahmood, despite having few opportunities.
The team is scheduled to play five T20 internationals and three ODIs in India starting in January, then heading to the Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
Spinner Rehan Ahmed will participate in the opening T20 phase of the tour before stepping away, whereas Root will join the team only when the ODI series starts in India.
England team: Jos Buttler (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood.
