Jacob Bethell ruled out of Champions Trophy 2025, replacement named

England’s batting all-rounder Jacob Bethell has been ruled out of the Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 due to a hamstring injury, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Wednesday.

Bethell, who scored a gutsy half-century in England’s four-defeat in the first ODI against India last week, sustained an injury to his left hamstring during the match.

The 21-year-old has been replaced by Tom Banton for the ongoing ODI series against India as well as the highly-anticipated eight-team tournament, scheduled to run from February 19 to March 9.

“England have named Tom Banton as the replacement in the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025 squad for Jacob Bethell, who was ruled out owing to a left hamstring injury,” ICC said in a statement.

Banton, who last played an ODI for England in August 2020, made his way back to the team on the back of his consistent performances for MI Emirates in the recently concluded International League T20, where he finished as the second top-scorer with 493 runs from 11 innings.

For the unversed, England will start their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign against arch-rivals Australia on February 21, before taking on Afghanistan at the same venue on February 26.

The Three Lions will play their last group-stage fixture against South Africa on March 1 in Karachi.

England’s updated Champions Trophy squad:

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

England's group stage fixtures:

February 22: England vs Australia, Lahore

February 26: England vs Afghanistan, Lahore

March 01: England vs South Africa, Karachi