Courtesy: ECB
Phil Salt, the England wicketkeeper batter, has withdrawn his name from the T20I squad to take on West Indies in a home three-match series starting on Friday, June 6. The 28-year-old will be taking time off from national duty after the birth of his child earlier this week, to spend some time at home after his request for paternity leave was granted by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), replacing him in the T20I squad with Jamie Smith.
Notably, just days after the birth of his child, Phil Salt made an appearance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 final for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) against Punjab Kings (PBKS), which they won by six runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. It is reported that Salt had left for England ahead of the IPL 2025 final to witness the birth of his child before making the trip back to India for the big match.
But now, Phil Salt has decided to not compete for England, to be with his family, and in their press release, ECB wrote on the latest development, “England and Lancashire batter Phil Salt has been granted permission to withdraw from the England Men’s IT20 squad for the upcoming three-match Vitality Series against the West Indies. Salt, who is taking time away on paternity leave following the birth of his child earlier this week, will now spend time at home.”
England to play West Indies in first T20I on June 6 in Durham
Moreover, the first T20I of the three-match series between England and West Indies will happen at Banks Home Riverside in Durham in a day’s time before they travel to Seat Unique Stadium in Bristol for the second game on Sunday, June 8. The third and final T20I of the series will be played on Tuesday, June 10, at the Utilita Bowl in Southampton.
England’s squad for three-match T20I series vs West Indies:
Harry Brook (c), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler (wk), Brydon Carse, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Jamie Smith (wk), Luke Wood
