\n<\/p>\n
Smith has been England’s one-day opener in their past nine matches, though has not played a T20 since June. The 25-year-old struggled in the one-dayers in New Zealand that preceded the Ashes, then has managed only one half-century in eight innings in Australia.<\/p>\n
In contrast, 28-year-old Tongue has been England’s breakout star of the Ashes, claiming 12 wickets in his two Tests. He is in the squad for the T20s and not the ODIs.<\/p>\n
Cox, the leading run-scorer in last year’s Hundred, can feel unfortunate to miss out. Tom Banton gets the nod as middle-order batting cover.<\/p>\n
Duckett is in both squads despite a difficult Ashes and looks set to bring his Test opening partnership with Crawley to one-day internationals as England look for a combination that can build towards the 50-over World Cup.<\/p>\n
Crawley has played eight one-day internationals, the last of which in West Indies in December 2023 was also his last List A game.<\/p>\n
Root, who turns 35 on Tuesday, would have been a potential candidate to rest after the Ashes, yet travels to Sri Lanka for the ODIs only. His next cricket would then likely come in the home summer.<\/p>\n
All-rounder Jacks missed the tour of New Zealand as he recovered from a broken finger and returns to both squads as one of a number of spin options in the subcontinental conditions.<\/p>\n
Jacks joins Adil Rashid, Liam Dawson, Rehan Ahmed and Bethell in the slow-bowling ranks.<\/p>\n
Along with Nepal, England join West Indies, Bangladesh and tournament debutants Italy in Group C of the T20 World Cup. All of their matches take place in Kolkata and Mumbai.<\/p>\n
If Brook’s men finish in the top two, they would progress to a second-round group that could include New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The top two from that group advance to the semi-finals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n