ENG vs NEP: Why did Ben Duckett miss T20 World Cup 2026 match 5 in Mumbai?
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Ben Duckett wasn’t name in England XI for ENG vs NEP clash at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
England are locking horns with Nepal in their opening match of T20 World Cup 2026. The ENG vs NEP encounter got underway on Sunday, February 7, at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Interestingly, Ben Duckett was absent from England’s playing XI for the clash.
England and Nepal are placed in Group C in the tournament, with West Indies, Scotland, and Italy being the other teams in the same pool. This is the first time both sides are locking horns in a T20I match.
England captain Harry Brook won the toss and opted to bat first. However, Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel admitted that they wished to bat first.
Speaking about his decision to bat first, Brook said, “We’re gonna have a bat first. We feel like the pitch is gonna be in best shape in the first innings, and then hopefully we can bowl well and defend our score in the second innings. Yeah, it looked like there was a little bit of spin in it and a little bit of bounce, so hopefully we can utilise that in the second innings”.
Why is Ben Duckett not playing ENG vs NEP clash in T20 World Cup 2026?
Notably, Duckett was not part of England’s match against Nepal as they continued with Philip Salt and Jos Buttler as openers. As a result, there is no place for Duckett in the playing XI.
Duckett was part of England’s recent white-ball series against Sri Lanka, where he also featured in three ODIs and one T20I. Although he gave a decent performance in the ODI series, he was gone for a duck in the third T20I, where he opened the batting with Buttler.
Meanwhile, Jofra Archer and Luke Wood will lead England’s pace attack against Nepal, while Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson are the two spinners in the playing XI.
ENG vs NEP: Playing XI’s of both teams
England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (w), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (c), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood.
Nepal: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (w), Rohit Paudel(c), Dipendra Singh Airee, Aarif Sheikh, Lokesh Bam, Gulsan Jha, Karan KC, Nandan Yadav, Sandeep Lamichhane, Sher Malla.
Who won the toss in ENG vs NEP match of T20 World Cup 2026?
England won the toss and opted to bat first in the clash.
What is the venue of ENG vs NEP match?
Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai is the venue of ENG vs NEP match.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.