Buttler ruled out of Lancashire T20 Blast QF, Australia series participation in doubt

London [UK], August 3 (ANI): England skipper Jos Buttler has been ruled out of Lancashire’s T20 Blast quarterfinal against Sussex on Wednesday as he is yet to recover from a calf injury, putting his participation in the T20I series against Australia under uncertainty.

The three-match T20I series against the Aussies at home will start on September 11. However, the England team management is not too worried about their skipper and is optimistic that he will be available to captain the team through the full white-ball tour, which also includes five ODIs.

England’s new-look squad will report at the Utilita Bowl on Sunday ahead of two training days, and the medical staff there will get a clearer picture of Buttler’s status for the Australian challenge.

England’s white-ball teams are also without an official vice-captain, with Sam Curran and Phil Salt the leading contenders for captaincy in case Buttler misses out. He is also not expected to take the gloves during the T20I series and is likely to play as a specialist batter, which increases the chance he would be able to feature despite setback in his injury recovery.

Buttler has not played competitive cricket since England’s loss to India in the ICC T20 World Cup semifinal back in June. He sustained a calf injury while preparing for The Hundred competition, which ruled him out of the competition. After weeks of rehabilitation, he had been targeting Wednesday’s quarter-final at Hove for his comeback.

But now that he has been ruled out of the QF, Lancashire coach Dale Benkestein said to BBC Radio Lancashire as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, “We have had some bad news on his recovery. He had an injury he was recovering from, and he has sort of tweaked it again. He has not only just out of our T20s, but I think he is even struggling to make the international ones. He was very keen to play for us.”

Lancashire will have other England international players available for them though, with Salt, Liam Livingstone and Saqib Mahmood set to play. Pacer Jofra Archer is also expected to feature for Sussex.

England T20I Squad: Jos Buttler (captain), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, John Turner.

England ODI Squad: Jos Buttler (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Reece Topley, John Turner.