Jacob Bethell ruled out of ICC Champions Trophy 2025, confirms Jos Buttler

Jacob Bethell featured in the first ODI against India in Nagpur and hit a fifty.

With less than two weeks to go for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, England have to deal with an injury to one of their key players, Jacob Bethell, who has been ruled out of the upcoming competition due to a hamstring injury.

Though the ECB are yet to release an official statement regarding Bethell, England captain Jos Buttler has confirmed this development, stating that he “pretty sure” Bethell is “ruled out” of the Champions Trophy.

Bethell, a middle-order left-handed batsman and a left-arm finger spinner who would have been a crucial cog in England’s line-up in the Champions Trophy, sustained a hamstring injury during the first ODI against India in Nagpur, where he scored 51 runs and picked up the wicket of Shreyas Iyer.

Bethell missed the second ODI in Cuttack, after which Buttler confirmed his unavailability for the Champions Trophy.

Buttler said, “I’m pretty sure he’s been ruled out of the Champions Trophy, to be honest. That’s really disappointing for him, obviously he played nicely the other day and has been one of the really exciting players so it’s a shame that the injury is going to rule him out.”

The 21-year-old Bethell is one of the most talented cricketers in the world and made his England debut in all three formats last year and was also picked up by Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the mega auction recently.

England are also fretting over a calf injury to wicket-keeper batsman Jamie Smith. However, Jamie is expected to recover in time for England’s opening game at the Champions Trophy, which is against Australia on February 22 in Lahore.

England add Tom Banton as cover for Jacob Bethell for third ODI against India

The ECB added Tom Banton to England’s squad for the third ODI against England, which will be played on Wednesday in Ahmedabad. Banton, who has played six ODIs so far, was in excellent form during the ILT20 in the UAE, where he struck 493 runs in 11 innings for MI Emirates and cracked two hundreds.

He will join the England squad on Monday in Ahmedabad.

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