England ODI squad: In a complete overhaul, England have announced a whole new squad for the imminent three-match ODI series.
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England have completely rejigged their ODI squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Pakistan as a whole different set of 18 players have been named as a replacement for the original 16-member squad.
All-rounder Ben Stokes, who was playing a County Championship match for Durham after three years, has been named the leader of the side for the first time in ODIs. All this happened a day after there were murmurs of Stokes missing the whole white-ball leg of this international summer.
What happened to England ODI squad?
The surprising changes were made as a ramification of as many as three players and four management team members testing positive for COVID-19 in Bristol. The unfortunate development means that the whole squad will have to undergo a mandatory self-isolation period starting from July 4.
A majority of those who have contacted the coronavirus are said to be “asymptomatic”. However, with the series starting from July 8 in Cardiff, it wouldn’t have been possible for these players to recover in time to take any part in the series.
“We have been mindful that the emergence of the Delta variant, along with our move away from the stringent enforcement of bio secure environments, could increase the chances of an outbreak.
“We made a strategic choice to try to adapt protocols, in order to support the overall wellbeing of our players and management staff who have spent much of the last 14 months living in very restricted conditions,” England Cricket Board Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison said in a statement.
England squad for Pakistan ODIs – Ben Stokes (c), Jake Ball, Danny Briggs, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Lewis Gregory, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, Dan Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Matt Parkinson, David Payne, Phil Salt, John Simpson, James Vince.
