England's limited-overs captain Jos Buttler's return to competitive cricket has taken another hit as he has been ruled out of the upcoming ODI series against West Indies. Buttler has been plagued by a calf injury for four months now and has been hit with further a setback on the road to his recovery.
In his absence, Liam Livingstone will be leading the team for the first time in International cricket as the England Cricket Board has named the squad for the ODI and T20I series against the Windies. Livingstone gets the captaincy role as Harry Brook is also in Pakistan with the Test squad.
Buttler has been away from competitive cricket since the T20 World Cup 2024 semifinal against India. He missed the Hundred for Manchester Originals and pulled out from the T20I and ODI series against Australia. His return has been further delayed due to a setback during his recovery. The ECB has confirmed that while Buttler will not be part of the ODIs, he will join the squad of the T20I series. Buttler has also been named the captain for the T20I series.
Notably, England's tour of the Caribbean will begin with the ODI series from October 31 onwards. The five-match T20I series will be played from November 9.
England's squad for the white-ball series against West Indies:
Jos Buttler (Lancashire – Captain) T20 series only Jofra Archer (Sussex) Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire) Jafer Chohan (Yorkshire) Sam Curran (Surrey) Will Jacks (Surrey) Liam Livingstone (Lancashire) Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire) Dan Mousley (Warwickshire) Jamie Overton (Surrey) Adil Rashid (Yorkshire) Phil Salt (Lancashire) Reece Topley (Surrey) John Turner (Hampshire)
Notably, the ECB has confirmed that two more players will be joining the squad from the ongoing Test series against Pakistan.
ODI series schedule:
Thursday 31 October: 1st ODI - Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua
Saturday 2 November: 2nd ODI - Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua
Wednesday 6 November: 3rd ODI - Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
T20I series schedule:
Saturday 9 November: 1st T20 - Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
Sunday 10 November: 2nd T20 - Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
Thursday 14 November: 3rd T20 - Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
Saturday 16 November: 4th T20 - Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
Sunday 17 November: 5th T20 - Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
