England fast bowler Josh Tongue will not feature in the T20I squad for the four-T20I series against New Zealand. The nature of Tongue’s injury has not been disclosed yet. England have recalled veteran pacer Chris Jordan as Tongue’s replacement.
Tongue was expected to make his T20I debut against the Kiwis. However, he has been ruled out due to an undisclosed injury. Earlier this summer, Tongue made his Test debut against Ireland at Lord's. He also made his Ashes debut under Ben Stokes and has 10 wickets in the red-ball format so far.
Earlier this year, Jordan was named Jofra Archer’s replacement by Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The 34-year-old took just three wickets from six matches and conceded runs at 10.77 runs per over.
However, he has been in good form of late picking eight wickets for the Souther Brave in the ongoing The Hundred Men’s Competition. Also, his economy has dropped to 6.88 runs per over.
"The T20 squad has been picked with a view to having a look at a few other guys," said Jos Buttler, England's white-ball captain. "That's been communicated [to Mills and Jordan] as well. We want to try and broaden that talent pool and expose some people to international cricket to see where they're at.
"Death bowling is obviously a big focus in short-form cricket and we want to see where certain people are at, and give them a chance. Of course, no one's ever ruled out, but in terms of needing extra motivation, every player should always be motivated in my eyes."
The four-T20I series will begin on August 30 at Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street. Before the T20I series, New Zealand have two T20 practice matches. In the first practice match, New Zealand beat Worcestershire by seven wickets with eight overs to spare.
England’s T20I squad: Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, and Brydon Carse
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