Sam Billings ruled out of Ireland ODI and Pakistan T20I; replacement announced

England are troubled with injuries just ahead of the World Cup. While Joe Denly and Jason Roy are already struggling to be fit for the Pakistan series, the wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Billings has been ruled out of the Ireland ODI due to the dislocated shoulder. Though he was not in the squad for the five-match ODI series against the Men in Green, the selectors had mentioned that Billings had a chance to stake a claim in the World Cup squad.

Billings was also part of the England team to play in the one-off T20I against Pakistan. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has named Ben Foakes as his replacement now according to ESPNCricinfo. Foakes was the star performer for England in the Sri Lanka tour where the Brits won the Test series to create history and now has received the maiden call-up to the limited-overs side.

Foakes was awarded for his superb show in the ongoing domestic One-Day tournament for Surrey. On Thursday, he smashed his third half-century of the season scoring 71 off 80 balls.

Billings’ World Cup hopes vanished?

Sam Billings was firmly in the plans of making it to the World Cup squad in case of injuries to any of the batsmen during the tournament. He had also returned from IPL early ahead of the Ireland ODI and Pakistan T20I to first play for his team Kent. But his stint lasted only for a few minutes.

Fielding at mid-off, Billings dived to stop Marnus Labuschagne’s shot and fell awkwardly on his shoulder. He was in severe pain and had to leave the field after which he was taken to the hospital and a shoulder dislocation was spotted. Though the cricketer is set to undergo more scans on Friday, his chance to play in the upcoming matches is vanished.

[interaction id=”5cc068786fdf9ab7f7e43001″]

Get the latest Cricket News and updates from the Indian Premier League, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.