Two days after playing a mature knock against India in the Nagpur ODI, rookie England all-rounder Jacob Bethell suffered a hamstring injury, getting ruled out of the ongoing second match in Cuttack, with the visitors calling up Somerset batter Tom Banton as his cover for the third ODI in Ahmedabad. His injury, however, has also cast doubts over his participation in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 starting February 19 in Pakistan.

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Jacob has been a star emerging player for England since his all-format debut, having succeeded in the longer formats. His inclusion in the One-Day side boosted England’s middle order, and given how he performed under pressure in the series opener, his absence could hurt England that are already without Ben Stokes for workload management.

Also read | IND vs ENG 2nd ODI: Iyer or Jaiswal, who sits out when Kohli returns to playing XI in Cuttack?

Meanwhile, Banton is called up as his cover for the final One-Dayer, and upon assessing Bethell’s injury ahead of the 3rd ODI on Wednesday (Feb 12), the England team management could extend his stay for the eight-team tournament if needed.

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The right-handed batter last played for England five years ago in 2020, and been in outstanding form in the franchise cricket lately. Banton, a keeper-batter, is the leading run-scorer in the ILT20 competition in the UAE, having amassed 493 runs from 11 innings, averaging 54.77, including two hundreds and three fifties. Per an ECB presser, Banton will link up with the England squad on Monday in India.

Changes to the XIs for both teams

While England made three changes, including a forced one in Jacob Bethell, India made two, with Virat Kohli’s inclusion being the biggest. 

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England also rested seamers Brydon Carse and Jofra Archer, replacing them with Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood, with Jamie Overton playing ahead of Bethell. On the other hand, India sat out Yashasvi Jaiswal, who made his ODI debut in the previous game, with Kohli replacing him while handing a maiden One-Day cap to mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy, who replaced seasoned spinner Kuldeep Yadav.

England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to bat first. Openers Ben Duckett and Phil Salt added 81 for the first wicket before the debutant Varun removed the gloveman on 26, caught by Ravindra Jadeja. By the 15th over, Duckett had completed his fifty, with England also closing in on the 100-run mark for one wicket. 

Meanwhile, England lost the five-match T20Is (1-4) and the first One-Dayer by four wickets, with the Cuttack game being the must-win. 

(With inputs from agencies)