England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are set to announce the T20 World Cup squad early next week. But a potential injury to Jamie Overton has put them in a fix as the cricketer was supposed to get his maiden T20I call-up for the mega event. His recent back injury and its inconclusive scans has made the Surrey all-rounder doubtful for the World Cup.
Overton has made a name as an all-rounder in the shortest format of the game and England's managing director, Rob Key, was keeping a keen eye on him ever since he returned from injury last summer. Moreover, Overton himself had said that he felt he was close to getting selected in the team. Moreover, Ben Stokes' withdrawal has added more emphasis on having a quality all-rounder in the team for the defending champions.
But Overton's back injury ruled him out of the County Championship clash against Kent last week while he will also not feature against Hampshire this week with unclear scan results. The 30-year-old has is due for another scan in two weeks' time but with the ICC's deadline to announce the squad being May 1, England will have announced the team by then.
Among other talking points about the squad, Ben Duckett is in contention to be the back-up batter while according to ESPNCricinfo, Tom Hartley is likely to get the nod ahead of Rehan Ahmed. Meanwhile, Jofra Archer is set to be named in the squad and he could be given the chance to prove his fitness in the four-match T20I series against Pakistan. May 25 is the deadline to make final changes to the T20 World Cup squad and England will have played two T20Is against Pakistan by then.
Coming back to Overton's injury, in case, he is ruled out, England might recall Chris Jordan who was part of the squad that lost to the West Indies 3-2 in December 2023.
