England has been dealt an injury setback ahead of their white-ball tour of Bangladesh in March, as uncapped Somerset middle-order batter Tom Abell has been ruled out of both white-ball series due to a side strain.
Abell was set to make his England debut after being named in both the T20I and ODI squads to face Bangladesh.
A middle-order batter who captains his county Somerset, Abell picked up the injury while bowling in a match for England Lions against Sri Lanka A this week.
And the severity of the injury means he will return to the UK for recovery rather than travelling to Bangladesh.
“He has shown over a number of seasons the quality of player he is, and picking up an injury at this time is incredibly frustrating for him,” Somerset director of cricket Andy Hurry was quoted as saying by the ICC.
“We will focus now on ensuring he receives all the appropriate support he needs during a period of rehabilitation through to him returning to play,” added Hurry.
Abell has played 27 List A matches for Somerset in which he has scored 649 runs at an average of 30.90. He has one century and one fifty in 22 innings, with the best individual score of 106.
He has also played 75 T20s in his career, having scored 1,771 runs at an average of 33.41 and a strike rate of 142.36. He has one century and 10 fifties in the format, with the best score of 101*.
Besides this, he has also played 109 first-class cricket matches in which he has scored 6,038 runs at an average of 34.30. He has 13 centuries and 32 half-centuries in the format.
England have decided not to name an official replacement for Abell in the squad, leaving them with just six recognised batters in the ODI squad for the first leg of the tour — Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Dawid Malan, James Vince, Moeen Ali and captain Jos Buttler.
But Will Jacks, who is currently with England’s Test squad in New Zealand, could link up with the white-ball squad early should he not be picked for the second Test in Wellington.
England Squads: ODI Squad: Jos Buttler (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Sam Curran, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
T20I Squad: Jos Buttler (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
England Men’s Tour of Bangladesh schedule
1st ODI: Bangladesh v England – March 1, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka
2nd ODI: Bangladesh v England – March 3, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka
3rd ODI: Bangladesh v England – March 6, Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram
1st T20I: Bangladesh v England – March 9, Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram
2nd T20I: Bangladesh v England – March 12, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka
3nd T20I: Bangladesh v England – March 14, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka. (ANI)
