STOKES OUT OF ENGLAND T20 SQUAD

NOTTINGHAM: England allrounder Ben Stokes was left out of the squad announced Tuesday for the Twenty20 internatonal matches against Australia and India.

England said Monday the hamstring tear Stokes suffered before that second Test against Pakistan was “progressing well”, and it was hoped he could play in the three-match T20 series against India starting on July 3.

That remains a possibility as the Durham star will travel with the squad selected for those three matches and the preceding one-off Twenty20 fixture against Australia, which will follow the ongoing oneday international series, at Edgbaston on June 27.

Test captain Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow returned alongside Moeen Ali.

Rayudu (India seniors) failing the test, the Committee of Administrators (COA) have asked BCCI officials why it was not taken before team selection. It is learnt BCCI GM (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim explained that an exception was made this time because IPL was on.

Henceforth, BCCI will hold the fitness test before team selection to avoid the embarrassment of late withdrawals. The teams for the Afghanistan Test, India and A tour of the UK were announced during IPL last month.

The issue was discussed at the COA meeting held on Monday.

Rayudu made a comeback to the ODI side after a prolific IPL but was unable to pass the Yo-yo test. Raina replaced him in the squad. Shami will get another opportunity to prove his fitness when the Test squad is picked.