Nine uncapped players named in England’s revised squad for Pakistan ODIs, Stokes to lead

England and Wales Cricket Board have named nine uncapped players in the team’s revised squad for the upcoming ODI series against Pakistan. The England board has named a new 18-man squad different from the original squad after seven members of the team were tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday.

The seven members include three players and four staff members and thus the whole of the current squad will need to self-isolate themselves. Meanwhile, England’s talisman all-rounder Ben Stokes will lead the team in place of Eoin Morgan, who is currently with the main squad. This will be the first time when Stokes will lead England in the ODI format.

England squad: Ben Stokes, Jake Ball, Danny Briggs, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Lewis Gregory, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, Daniel Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Matt Parkinson, David Payne, Phil Salt, John Simpson, James Vince.

Giles believes it will be a great opportunity for the young players to grab their chances.

“It’s a great opportunity to play on the biggest stage, and for most of the players selected it’s not necessarily something they would have been expecting 24 hours ago,” managing director of England men’s cricket, Ashley Giles, said.

“It’s an exciting group of players, with some young talent and some players who have impressed at domestic level over a long period of time. We’re in unprecedented territory, in terms of replacing an entire squad and management team, and I’m very proud of how everyone has come together in order to get it done – both those within the ECB and from the county game.

“Ben hasn’t captained our ODI side before so it’s a huge honour for him. We all wish him well and it’s a role I’m sure he’ll thrive in. I’d like to also put on record the thanks of the ECB to the PCB for their support and understanding during this time,” Giles added.

Meanwhile, England had won the T20I series against Sri Lanka by 3-0 and then went on to win the ODI series 2-0 as the final ODI was washed out due to rain. This will be a great opportunity for young players to represent the national team and take their chances in the absence of big players.

The first ODI between England and Pakistan will be played at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on July 8.