England Squad for Champions Trophy 2025: England are the first team to announce their 15-man squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which is set to be played across Pakistan and the UAE from February 19. It is the same squad that will tour India for a three-ODI series before the showpiece ICC event. Jos Buttler will lead the side across the two tours.
Veteran batsman Joe Root, who hasn’t played an ODI since the World Cup 2023, returns to the squad, while Ben Stokes is not picked. All-rounder Sam Curran, who was the Man of the Tournament at the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia but since then has suffered a dip at the international level, has been overlooked.
This is the first selection for England under Brendon McCullum, their Test coach who has been named their all-format coach following the departure of Matthew Mott, under whom England had a forgettable World Cup 2023 campaign, where they finished 7th out of 10 teams and managed to sneak in the Champions Trophy.
Why Was Ben Stokes Not Picked in the England Squad for Champions Trophy 2025?
As Stokes is recovering from a hamstring injury that he sustained during the Test series in New Zealand, England decided not to include him in their squads for the ODI series in India and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
McCullum has picked as many as 8 players from the Test team in the ODI setup.
England have gone with depth in their pace department and selected several seamers who bowl at high pace: Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, and Saqib Mahmood. All-rounder Jamie Overton has also been included, though his contributions in the bowling department would be limited due to his recent stress fractures, but he’s proven himself as a dangerous lower-order batsman in the last year or so.
Apart from Sam Curran, other prominent players who’ve previously been part of the ODI setup but are now snubbed are Reece Topley, Will Jacks, Matthew Potts, and Jonny Bairstow.
Jacks’ omission is surprising to many, as he has an average of 31 and a strike rate of 100 in 15 ODIs. Instead, Ben Duckett, who averages 46 in 16 ODIs, has been selected as Phil Salt’s opening partner.
Young Jacob Bethell, who has played only eight ODIs and averages 52 in six Test innings, will be part of his maiden ICC tournament with the senior men’s team.
England will play five T20Is and three ODIs in India from January 22 to February 12. The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is slated to kick off on February 19.
England are in Group B, alongside Australia, South Africa, and Afghanistan. In the competition, the matches in both groups, barring India’s matches, will be played in Pakistan. India’s matches, including the semi-final and final if they reach it, will be played in the UAE.
England squad for Champions Trophy 2025 and ODI series vs India:
Jos Buttler (C, wk), Jofra Archer, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Jamie Smith (wk), Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt (wk), Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell
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