England suffered a major blow ahead of their upcoming white-ball series against New Zealand as their seamer Josh Tongue has been ruled out of the T20I leg due to an injury. The announcement comes just days before the commencement of the much-anticipated series as the England Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed that Tongue’s injury would keep him sidelined for the entire home T20I series against Blackcaps.
It is worth mentioning that England is set to engage in a four-match T20I series followed by an equal number of One Day Internationals (ODIs) against the visiting New Zealand side starting from August 30.
Tongue had recently earned his maiden call-up to the England white-ball squad after showcasing his talent and potential with remarkable performances in the red-ball format against Ireland and Australia. However, his promising debut in the white-ball setup has been temporarily halted due to the unfortunate injury.
Tongue’s absence marks the second setback for the English team ahead of the series, as they also lost John Turner from the squad due to a side problem a few days back. Turner’s unavailability had already raised concerns in the England camp, and Tongue’s unfortunate injury exacerbates the team’s challenges further.
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ECB announces Chris Jordan as Josh Tongue’s replacement
The England selectors have named experienced campaigner Chris Jordan as Tongue’s replacement in the T20I squad. Jordan is England’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is and brings a wealth of experience and skill to the side.
In addition to his absence from the international series, Tongue will also miss an important clash in The Hundred Competition 2023. Tongue’s injury rules him out of The Hundred eliminator match, where he was set to represent his Manchester Originals against Southern Brave.
England’s revised squad for the T20 series against New Zealand:
Jos Buttler (c), Rehan Ahmed, Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood
Also READ: New Zealand unveil 15-man squad for England ODIs; Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson return
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