Senior players return as England announce squad for Pakistan T20Is

After a scintillating win over Pakistan in the ODI series, England will look to steamroll Pakistan in the shortest format of the game. The hosts will take on the Babar Azam-led side in a three-match T20I series that gets underway on July 16. 

The ODI series saw a second-string England take on Pakistan as their key players were forced into isolation after COVID-19 breached the England camp and infected three players and four management staff. 

However, the players have served the mandatory isolation and have returned negative results. Consequently, the England Cricket Board (ECB) has recalled their senior players back into the squad for the T20I series. Eoin Morgan has returned at the helm while Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali also find a place in the squad. Pacer Saqib Mahmood and spinner Matt Parkinson along with all-rounder Lewis Gregory have been rewarded for an astounding show in the ODI series with spots in the T20I squad.

Ben Stokes to miss the T20I series vs Pakistan

Ben Stokes, who led England in the ODI series along with Mark Wood, Chris Woakes and Sam Curran has been rested. Also, coach Chris Silverwood, who cut short his break to take charge of the ODI team, will give the T20I series a skip. Paul Collingwood will don the coach’s hat for the T20Is. The series gets underway on Friday at Trent Bridge, with matches to follow at Headingley on Sunday and Old Trafford on Tuesday.

 

England T20I squad: Eoin Morgan (Middlesex – captain), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Jake Ball (Nottinghamshire), Tom Banton (Somerset), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Tom Curran (Surrey), Lewis Gregory (Somerset), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Matt Parkinson (Lancashire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), David Willey (Yorkshire)

 

Pakistan T20I Squad: Babar Azam (C), Fakhar Zaman, Sohaib Maqsood, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Usman Qadir, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Azam Khan, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Arshad Iqbal, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Shaheen Afridi