Revealed: Why IPL 2025 champion Phil Salt won't be playing in England's T20I series against West Indies

By Vikas Singh Derek

Vikas Singh Derek has a Master's in Journalism and has written more than 50,000 articles. He currently works as a cricket content writer at Khel Now.

Published at :June 5, 2025 at 7:21 PM

Modified at :June 5, 2025 at 7:21 PM

(Courtesy : Getty Images)

Phil Salt was part of the IPL 2025 winning team RCB.

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has made a change to the England squad for the upcoming T20I series against the West Indies. Opening batter Phil Salt has opted out of the series, and in his place, the governing body has added young Jamie Smith to the side.

England and the West Indies will face each other in a three-match T20I series in the ongoing West Indies tour of England 2025. The three encounters will take place on June 6, 8, and 10. The venue of the first T20I match is Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street, County Ground, Bristol, and The Rose Bowl in Southampton will host the last two games respectively.

England batter Phil Salt took paternity leave due to the birth of his child. Notably, he was recently part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The franchise won the title by defeating Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final. The batter flew back home after Qualifier 1 and returned to Ahmedabad before the final.

England squad for the West Indies T20Is; Jamie Smith replaces Phil Salt

Harry Brook (C), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Jamie Smith, Luke Wood.

Meanwhile, the West Indies will be led by Shai Hope in the T20I series. He was recently named as the new skipper in the shortest format. Key members like Jason Holder and Andre Russell have returned to the West Indies squad for the series.

Meanwhile, England and the West Indies recently locked horns in a three-match ODI series. The hosts completed a whitewash against the visitors. They won the first ODI by 238 runs, the second ODI by three wickets, and the third game by seven wickets.

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Vikas Singh Derek

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.