LONDON: England named a 14-man Twenty20 squad on Tuesday for the upcoming three-match series against Pakistan, with selectors leaving out players from the Test squad in the ongoing series against the Asian side.

Eoin Morgan will captain the side, with all three matches to be played behind closed doors at Old Trafford in Manchester when the series begins on Aug 28, three days after the end of the third and final Test in Southampton.

“In this crowded international summer, players who are currently in the test match bio-secure bubble for the Pakistan Test series are not included in this squad,” national selector Ed Smith said in a statement.

“We want to give multi-format players some opportunity to rest and refresh, while still selecting strong squads for every series.”

The England and Wales Cricket Board also confirmed assistant coach Graham Thorpe will take on the role of head coach for the T20 series.

Paul Collingwood, who took charge as head coach of England’s ODI squad for the Ireland series that concluded earlier this month, will be assistant coach, while Marcus Trescothick has been appointed batting coach.

Meanwhile, England hired former Pakistan all-rounder and bowling coach Azhar Mahmood as a member of backroom staff for the Twenty20 series.

The 45-year-old Azhar will support England bowling coach Jon Lewis during the said series.

T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow (wicket-keeper), Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Lewis Gregory, Chris Jordan, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey Reserves: Pat Brown, Liam Livingstone, Reece Topley.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2020