Jason Roy likely to be dropped from England's squad for Pakistan
Sep 01, 2022
London [UK], September 1 : After failing to recover from a season-long form slump, Jason Roy is anticipated to be left out from England's T20I team for next month's tour of Pakistan and the T20 World Cup in Australia in October.
As per ESPNcricinfo, English opener, Jason Roy is likely to sit out from the England squad set to play Pakistan and the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.
Roy, 32, was a vital member of the ODI and T20 team's dressing room under Eoin Morgan and a crucial member of the team from the moment he made his debut following the 2015 World Cup.
His relentless aggression at the top of the order has resulted in nearly 5,500 white-ball runs in 171 appearances, including 1,522 at 24.15 and a strike rate of 137.61 in T20Is. He has also played a critical role in establishing the team's proactive approach, which ultimately led to victory at the 2019 50-over World Cup.
The T20I team for England is expected to be unveiled on Friday. Morgan's replacement, Jos Buttler is currently recovering from the calf injury he suffered when serving as captain of the Manchester Originals in the Hundred.
He won't be available until the latter half of the tour, and Moeen Ali will likely fill in as the captain of the team at the beginning of the series. Roy is believed to have broken the to his teammates of the Oval Invincibles, that he was not been included for the national assignment.
Roy could have kept his spot in the team by playing well for Invincibles in this year's Hundred, given the high regard in which he is regarded in England's white-ball system. However, he had a dreadful start to his season with three ducks in four innings and an agonising 21 from 19 balls against Birmingham Phoenix to cap off his 51 runs at an average of 8.50.
He missed the Invincibles' final two games of the season due to lower back stiffness, including Wednesday night's crucial defeat to Originals at Old Trafford. His spot in the England squad was taken by Will Jacks, his domestic opening partner, whose impressive run of form included a century against Southern Brave. It's also believed that Jordan Cox, another member of Roy's Invincibles team and a key player in Kent's T20 Blast success last summer, is being looked at as a possible replacement.
Will Smeed, who scored the Hundred's maiden century, is another candidate. However, Phil Salt, who opened alongside Roy in the Netherlands while Jonny Bairstow was on Test duty, is expected to receive the first shot at replacing him.
After spending a considerable amount of time at number three in England's T20I team, Dawid Malan's stellar performances at the top of the order for Trent Rockets, a tournament-high 358 runs at 59.66 and a strike rate of 172.1 is likely to earn him a promotion to open at some point during the Pakistan tour.
It has also been mooted that Alex Hales, Malan's opening partner at Rockets and a player who has been snubbed by England ever since he failed two tests for recreational drugs just before the 2019 World Cup, be recalled. Hales became the first English player to surpass 10,000 runs in the T20 format this summer after several years of excellent performances on the international stage.
A reconciliation under the new leadership of Buttler and Matthew Mott, even with Morgan, his fiercest adversary, having retired, appears to be an outside chance. It is believed that Hales and the England management have not spoken, and the group's senior players have little interest in calling up Hales.
England's Test captain Ben Stokes, who resigned from ODI cricket this summer in order to concentrate on the other two international forms, will also not be a part of Pakistan tour. His priority right now is the upcoming Test series finale against South Africa at the Kia Oval next week.
Luke Wood, the left-arm quick, is expected to make his international debut against Pakistan after sitting on the bench in the Netherlands earlier this year.
In order to prepare for his return, Mark Wood, who has been injured during the entire English summer, will train this week at the Kia Oval with the Test team. The team for the Pakistan tour will be announced on Friday morning, and the team for the World Cup on September 16.