England captain Jos Buttler has been ruled out of the upcoming T20I series against Australia due to a right calf injury, and could potentially also miss the succeeding five-match ODI series later this month, the England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed on Thursday (September 5). In his absence, Phil Salt has been named stand-in captain.
Buttler suffered the injury ahead of The Hundred, ruling him out of the tournament. He was expected to recover in time for the white-ball series against Australia, but a further setback to the injury could potentially see him missing out on the entire English summer. Buttler has been out of action since England’s semi-final exit at the 2024 T20 World Cup in late June.
All-rounder Jamie Overton has been called up as a replacement in the T20I squad, but could feature as a pure batter as he continues to recover from the stress injury in the back. Jordan Cox, who is currently part of the England red-ball set-up for the ongoing series against Sri Lanka, has been added to the ODI unit as cover.
Australia, currently on a T20I tour of Scotland, are due to play three T20Is against England starting September 11 in Southampton. The ODI series begins on September 19 at Trent Bridge.
England T20I Squad: Phil Salt (C), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, John Turner
England ODI Squad: Jos Buttler (C), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Reece Topley, John Turner