Reports: Jamie Smith to miss first two ODIs against India with calf injury

Jamie Smith made his T20I debut in the recently concluded five match series against India. However, the wicketkeeper-batter had to miss out on last two games of the series as he injured his calf in the third T20I. As England are bracing for the three match ODI series, they have asked their young spinner, Rehan Ahmed, to stay back although he was not part of ODI squad or the Champions Trophy 2025 squad. 

The move to go with only one frontline spinner had backfired England and with Rehan, they are aiming for damage control. Speaking of Smith, according to Telegraph Sport, the young spinner is set to miss the first two ODIs as he is still on his way to complete recovery. This is a slight setback for the team, though they have two wicketkeeper-batter’s in the form of Phil Salt and skipper, Jos Buttler. 

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Smith replaced Jacob Bethell is the second T20I. He went onto play another game before incurring injury and he scored just 258 runs in two innings. Salt could be the backup wicketkeeper of the team as Buttler has not donned gloves since his return from calf injury. On the other hand, Salt is just three ODIs old in the format as a wicketkeeper, and England have a task at hand to deal with the situation. 

The first ODI will commence on February 6 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium. The series will be cornerstone for both teams to prepare for the Champions Trophy 2025, starting from February 19. 

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India vs England ODI series squads

India ODI squad: 

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami.

England ODI squad: 

Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Philip Salt, Jamie Smith, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.