England have announced their provisional squad for the T20 World Cup 2026, which is scheduled to be played in February-March in India and Sri Lanka. Star pacer Jofra Archer has been named in the 15-member squad despite still nursing a left side strain that ruled him out of the Ashes after the third Test.
Harry Brook, who is England's white-ball captain, will be leading the team in the major tournament. England are placed in Group C at the World Cup, along with West Indies, Italy and Bangladesh. The squad also includes Josh Tongue, uncapped in international limited-overs cricket and is currently in action in Australia in the ongoing Ashes series.
Tongue made it to the WC squad as the head coach, Brendon McCullum, and skipper Harry Brook said that the right-arm pacer will capitalise on the flatter pitches expected for the tournament in India and Sri Lanka. Interestingly, the wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith remains out of the limited-overs set-up, which begins the new year with a pre-tournament tour of Sri Lanka, after a failed experiment at the top of the order. Ben Duckett has made his return to the side after missing the three T20Is in New Zealand ahead of the ongoing tour of Australia.
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Talking about Archer, the 30-year-old was England's standout bowler before he was ruled out of the final Test. He took nine wickets at 27.11, including 5 for 53 - his fourth five-wicket haul - in the first innings at Adelaide Oval. He also contributed with the bat, striking a maiden half-century in the same game as part of 102 runs at 25.50.
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Archer will miss the Sri Lanka tour as he is currently under the supervision of the ECB's medical team. He is likely to join the squad in India ahead of their opening Group C match against Nepal in Mumbai on February 8. On the other hand, all-rounder Will Jacks is also back in the side, whereas there is no place for Jordan Cox, or seamer Saqib Mahmood, who is still recovering from a knee injury. England finished as semi-finalists in the T20 World Cup 2024, losing to eventual winners India, which ultimately cost former white-ball coach Matthew Mott his job as head coach. England squad for Sri Lanka T20Is and provisional squad for T20 World Cup
Harry Brook (capt), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer (World Cup only), Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse (Sri Lanka tour only), Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, Luke Wood