England Releases Two Cricketers from Their Test Squad

England had announced their playing XI a day prior to the commencement of the first Test of the five-match Test series against India.

Cricket news: The players will now be available to play in the T20 Blast for their respective teams

Pacer Jamie Porter and off-spinner Moeen Ali were included in the 13-man squad selected for the series but they did not find a place in the playing XI for the first match.

Hence as they had to remain benched for the entire Test, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had decided to release them from the 13-man squad.

Both these players will now be available for their respective teams and will have an opportunity to play in the T20 Blast.

Moeen is a part of the Worcestershire team while Jamie plays for the Essex team. Essex will face Kent and Somerset on consecutive days while Worcestershire will play against Durham and Nottinghamshire.

Moeen Ali was a part of the regular setup of England’s Test cricket but leg-spinner Adil Rashid was given a chance to feature in the Tests, after a gap of 18 months, because of his splendid delivery which outclass Virat Kohli in the ODI series decider game.

Jamie Porter was called up to the senior team because of his phenomenal performance for Essex in the County Championship where he took 75 wickets at an average of just 16. However pacer Sam Curran was preferred above him.

The T20 Blast is at its full swing where Lancashire and Kent are current toppers of their respective groups, while Worcestershire is in the second place of the North Group while Essex lie at the bottom with just one win.

Essex will hope that Porter will change their fortunes or else it will be all over. While for Worcestershire, it is a timely inclusion for Ali, who is also their captain.