Josh Tongue earns surprise call-up as England name provisional squad for T20 World Cup 2026

London [UK], December 30 : England have announced their provisional 15-member squad for the upcoming T20I World Cup 2026. Surprisingly, the Three Lions have included pacer Josh Tongue, who is yet to play a limited-overs match for England, in their T20 WC squad.
Along with the squad for the T20 WC, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has also named the team for their white-ball tour of Sri Lanka in January-February.
While Harry Brook has been named the captain for the T20 World Cup, England have also named pacer Josh Tongue in their 15-man squad for the marquee event. Notably, while Tongue has played eight Tests for England, he is yet to feature in a T20I or an ODI for his country.
Tongue's inclusion in the World Cup squad comes after his Man of the Match performance in the recent Boxing Day Test of the ongoing Ashes series, where his bowling heroics at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) earned England their first win on Australian soil in since 2011.
Tongue, who claimed bowling figures of 5-45 and 2-44 in the Boxing Day Test, became the first England bowler to take a fifer in a Boxing Day Test at Melbourne in 21st century.
Along with the T20 WC squad, Tongue has also been included in Sri Lanka's tour squad, which precedes the World Cup.
Notably, Tongue was the leading wicket taker in The Hundred this year, taking 14 in just six matches with Manchester Originals at an average of 11.07.
England pace spearhead Jofra Archer has also been included in the World Cup squad, but is absent from Sri Lanka's tour squad. He is currently recovering from a side strain that kept him out of the third and fourth Ashes Test down under.
"Sussex fast bowler Jofra Archer is included in the provisional T20 World Cup squad but will miss the tour of Sri Lanka as he continues his rehabilitation with the England medical team following the left side strain sustained during the third Ashes Test in Adelaide earlier this month," said the ECB on their website.
Brydon Carse, on the other hand, made it to the England squad for Sri Lanka T20Is but is not included in the World Cup side.
Notably, explosive batter Liam Livingstone doesn't find a place in either the T20 World Cup squad or the one for the Sri Lanka tour, despite his solid performances in The Hundred and Vitality Blast, scoring 241 runs in eight innings and taking seven scalps for Birmingham Pheonix and scoring 260 runs in seven matches and taking six wickets for Lancashire, respectively.
England will play three ODIs and then three T20Is on their Sri Lanka tour, starting January 22. The Three Lions will kick their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign off against Nepal on February 8.
England squad for ODIs in Sri Lanka:
Harry Brook, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Luke Wood.
England squad for T20I World Cup 2026:
Harry Brook, Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, Luke Wood.
England squad for T20Is in Sri Lanka:
Harry Brook, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, Luke Wood.