The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced the 15-member England squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 which begins in the UAE and Oman from October 17 onwards.
England, who were the finalists in the last edition of the tournament in 2016, has been played in Group 1 of the Super 12s round along with Australia, South Africa, and the West Indies. They will be joined by two more teams who will qualify from the First round of matches.
The Eoin Morgan-led side sees T20 regulars like Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Sam Billings, Adil Rashid, and David Willey in the squad. However, the big news is that all-rounder Ben Stokes was not included in either the main squad or the reserve players.
ENG v IND 2021: Sir Geoffrey Boycott wants Joe Root and his England team to stop being nice
England Men's Head Coach, Chris Silverwood, said: "We are excited about the prospect of challenging to win the ICC T20 World Cup. I believe we have selected a squad that covers all bases and has the depth to be successful in what is expected to be a very competitive tournament featuring the best players in the world.”
Stokes had taken a break from cricket in order to heal his finger injury and for his mental health and is the probable reason behind his exclusion from the T20 World Cup squad. Sam Curran has been named in the team as the pure all-rounder.
A couple of surprise inclusions see Tymal Mills making a comeback into the England squad for the first time since 2017 which also sees Mark Wood and Chris Woakes as the other pace bowling options.
Silverwood also spoke on the inclusion of left-arm pacer Tymal Mills and said,” He deserves his inclusion and has demonstrated over the past couple of years, but particularly this summer that he has all skills to succeed at this level.
His exceptional pace is a standout, and the way he has spearheaded Sussex and Southern Brave's respective attacks in the short-form game has shown that he relishes the pressures of the big stage. He will add variety to our bowling unit, and we can't wait to see him play in a major international tournament”
Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, and James Vince were named as the reserve players. England has until 10 October to finalize their squad ahead of the tournament.
Here is England’s T20 World Cup 2021 squad:
Eoin Morgan (C), Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood.
Reserve Players: Liam Dawson, James Vince and Tom Curran
