Joe Root has been recalled to the ODI squad after more than a year. Joe Root will feature in the India ODI series and the Champions Trophy but is absent from the T20I squad. Joe Root makes his return to England’s ODI setup as the ECB announced the squads for the upcoming Champions Trophy and the India Tour.
Joe Root has returned to the England ODI fold for the first time post the 2023 World Cup as he was named in the 15-man squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy. The same 15-member squad will play the ODI series in India prior to the global event. Ben Stokes, the Test captain, might have also been in line for a recall to the 50-over squad but the ECB confirmed that he wasn’t picked as a result of a hamstring injury he sustained recently during the final Test against New Zealand.
Joe Root’s Return to the England ODI setup after 2023 World Cup Debacle
Joe Root wasn’t considered for 50-over cricket post England’s poor World Cup defence in India last year where he made only 276 runs at an average of 30.66 with the team handing out opportunities to a younger crop. However, the white-ball series in India will be Brendon McCullum’s first as the all-format head coach that has seen the Joe Root’s return to the set-up.
Joe Root, who turns 34 later this month, is set to cap off 2024 as the top-ranked Test batter in the world. Despite his prowess in the longer format, Root’s ODI form has dipped since England’s 2019 World Cup triumph. His last appearance in white-ball cricket came during England’s early exit at the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, where he scored 276 runs at an average of 30.66. His recall under head coach Brendon McCullum signals a renewed effort to bolster the team’s middle order.
Ben Stokes the notable miss out from the white ball setup for England
England Test captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out of next year’s Champions Trophy one-day international tournament in Pakistan and the preceding white-ball tour of India, team management announced Sunday.
The star all-rounder was not considered for either assignment after suffering a left hamstring injury during England’s defeat by New Zealand in the third Test at Hamilton earlier this month.
Stokes did not bat in the second innings of that match in a bid to prevent further damage as England slumped to a colossal 423-run defeat — a result that meant his side still won a three-match series 2-1.
With England facing a five-match Test series at home to India starting in June before their pinnacle 2025/26 Ashes tour of Australia, team management have decided against risking inspirational red-ball skipper Stokes in the Champions Trophy.
But key batsman Joe Root, who preceded close friend Stokes as Test captain, returns to the ODI side for the first time since the 2023 World Cup in India.
Fast bowler Mark Wood, who missed the recent Test tours of both Pakistan and New Zealand, due to a bone-stress injury to his right elbow, is in both squads. The India series and Champions Trophy will mark England’s first limited-overs tour and tournament under coach Brendon McCullum, previously just in charge of the Test side.
Jos Buttler stays as captain for the white ball team
Jos Buttler has retained the captaincy of the two white-ball teams despite England surrendering both their 50-over and T20 world titles since November 2023. But it is possible the dashing batsman may not keep wicket, as he has for much of his limited-overs career.
Both the ODI squad for the India tour and the Champions Trophy, as well as the squad for five T20s in India in January, feature two other wicketkeepers in Test gloveman Jamie Smith, who missed the New Zealand series to attend the birth of his first child, and Phil Salt.
Meanwhile, 21-year-old rising star Jacob Bethell, who marked his debut Test series with three fifties in New Zealand, is included in both squads. Leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed joins the T20 squad, while Root is selected only for the ODIs.
The tour party leaves for India on January 17, with the first match of a five-game series against T20 world champions India in Kolkata on January 22.
India and England will then play a three-match ODI series, in preparation for the Champions Trophy, starting in Nagpur on February 6.
Match dates for the Champions Trophy, which also features Pakistan as well as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, have yet to be announced, with the tournament due to run from February 19 to March 9.
The same squad has been chosen for the five-match T20I series as well with the only exception being Rehan Ahmed coming in place of Joe Root. The tour kicks off with the T20Is, beginning from January 22 whereas the ODI series will be played between February 6-12.
England ODI squad for India tour and 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan: Jos Buttler (capt/wkt), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith (wkt), Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt (wkt), Mark Wood
England T20I squad – Jos Buttler (C), Phil Salt, Mark Wood, Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton, Ben Duckett, Brydon Carse, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Rehan Ahmed