England Test captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out of next year’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the preceding white-ball tour of India.
The 33-year-old star all-rounder was not considered after damaging a hamstring during England’s defeat by New Zealand in the third Test at Hamilton earlier this month.
Stokes did not bat in the second innings of that match as England slumped to a 423-run defeat – a result that meant his side still won a three-match series 2-1.
He previously missed this year’s home series against Sri Lanka and the first Test in Pakistan due to hamstring issues.
With England facing a five-match Test series at home to India starting in June before their pinnacle 2025-26 Ashes tour of Australia, team management have decided against risking inspirational red-ball skipper Stokes.
Key batsman Joe Root, who preceded Stokes as Test captain, returns to the ODI side for the first time since the 2023 World Cup in India.
Fast bowler Mark Wood, who missed the recent Test tours of both Pakistan and New Zealand, with a bone-stress injury to his right elbow, is in both squads.
The India series and Champions Trophy will mark England’s first limited-overs tour and tournament under coach Brendon McCullum, previously just in charge of the Test side.
Jos Buttler, who missed the recent ODI series against the West Indies with a calf injury, remains captain of the two white-ball teams despite England surrendering both their 50-over and T20 world titles since November 2023.
But it is possible the dashing batsman, replaced as captain in the Caribbean by all-rounder Liam Livingstone, may not keep wicket, as he has for much of his limited-overs career.
Both the ODI squad for the India tour and the Champions Trophy, as well as the squad for five T20Is in India in January, feature two other wicketkeepers in Test gloveman Jamie Smith, who missed the New Zealand series to attend the birth of his first child, and Phil Salt.
Meanwhile, 21-year-old rising star Jacob Bethell, who marked his debut Test series with three fifties in New Zealand, is included in both squads.
Leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed joins the T20I squad, while Root is selected only for the ODIs.
The tour party leaves for India on 17 January, with the first match of a five-game series against T20 world champions India in Kolkata on 22 January.
India and England will then play a three-match ODI series, in preparation for the Champions Trophy, starting in Nagpur on 6 February.
Match dates for the Champions Trophy, which also features Pakistan as well as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, have yet to be announced, with the tournament due to run from 19 February to 9 March.
© Agence France-Presse
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