Uncapped English pacer Josh Tongue has been ruled out of the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand due to an injury on Friday, August 25. The veteran pacer Chris Jordan is named as his replacement after impressive performances in the ongoing men's Hundred 2023 tournament for Southern Brave.
Tongue, the 25-year-old right-arm pacer, was impressive on his Test debut this year with 10 wickets in two matches and was named in the white-ball team for the first time. But according to a report from ESPNCricinfo, Tongue has suffered a pectoral injury and will also miss Manchester Originals's eliminator clash against Southern Brave on Saturday.
Three Lions already lost Brydon Carson to injury with the uncapped young pacer John Turner coming into the squad. Luke Wood, Gus Atkinson and Sam Curran are leading the pace attack in T20Is with senior figures reserved for the ODI series with the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2023 in mind.
Jordan, England's leading wicket-taker in T20Is, was not part of the original squad announced for the tour. White-ball captain Jos Buttler revealed that the management was looking to give youngsters exposure to international cricket and they had communicated with Jordan regarding their plans.
"The T20 squad has been picked with a view to having a look at a few other guys," Buttler said on the sidelines of the Men's Hundred game on Friday. "That's been communicated [to Mills and Jordan] as well. We want to try and broaden that talent pool and expose some people to international cricket to see where they're at.
"Death bowling is obviously a big focus in short-form cricket and we want to see where certain people are at, and give them a chance. Of course, no one's ever ruled out, but in terms of needing extra motivation, every player should always be motivated in my eyes."
England T20I Squad against New Zealand: Jos Buttler (c & wk), Rehan Ahmed, Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood, John Turner, Chris Jordan
England play four T20Is against New Zealand starting at Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street on August 30 followed by four ODIs.
