England pick Chohan for West Indies tour as Buttler returns

1 month ago 9

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Ffion Wynne

BBC Sport journalist

Leg-spinner Jafer Chohan has earned his first England call-up for the white-ball tour of West Indies, while Jos Buttler returns as captain.

Chohan, 22, has taken 22 wickets in 23 T20 Blast matches for Yorkshire, including 17 in 10 games in 2024, and is the first graduate of the South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA) to be named in an England squad.

Buttler has been out since August with a calf injury, with Harry Brook and Phil Salt leading the one-day international and T20 sides in his absence against Australia in September.

It will be his first series in charge following a review of England's set-up after June's T20 World Cup, which saw head coach Matthew Mott step down.

The first of three ODIs against West Indies takes place on 31 October in Antigua, and is followed by five T20s.

The same squad has been named for both series, with Hampshire fast bowler John Turner and Warwickshire all-rounder Dan Mousley the other uncapped players alongside Chohan.

A further two players, who are yet to be named, will join the tour from the England Test squad, who finish their tour of Pakistan on 28 October.

England drew the T20 series against Australia but lost the ODI series 3-2, as they continue to rebuild after the departure of Mott, the retirement of all-rounder Moeen Ali and and the absence of experienced players including Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Mark Wood.

Marcus Trescothick will be head coach with Brendon McCullum taking over in January 2025.

England squad for West Indies

Jos Buttler (captain), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Jafer Chohan, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, John Turner.

Who is Jafer Chohan?

A first England call-up is the latest accolade in what has been a whirlwind two years for London-born Chohan.

In 2022, he was playing club cricket in Loughborough with the assumption that his dream of playing professionally was over, having failed to sign a contract with his childhood county Middlesex.

But his work in a net bowling session for England's T20 squad caught the attention of Joe Root, followed by his introduction to SACA, which led to a first deal with Yorkshire.

In 2023, after making an impression in the T20 Blast, Chohan was selected as a wildcard pick by Southern Brave for The Hundred.

"It feels like an absolute dream to be selected. It’s what I’ve worked for my whole life," Chohan told Yorkshire CCC.

"For me this is a really good opportunity to be around some of the best players in the world, learn as much as I can and just really sharpen up my game as much as possible."

Chohan credits SACA for giving him a second chance and for showing that the traditional route of progress from a county academy set-up is not the only option for players.

Having to learn to love the game again after his struggle to secure a county deal initially, Chohan studied leg-spin intensely on YouTube to develop his craft and then gained valuable advice and teaching from England's Adil Rashid and his brother, Amar.

"My skillset is a very unique one and a bit different to what England has had before," added Chohan.

"I feel very confident in my game and I like to express myself as a person with how I bowl and I think that works to my strength. Being in this new environment will be a really good opportunity to thrive."

Chohan was namechecked by Rashid last week during a BBC Sport interview and said: "There’s a few around the circuit, they’re in competition, which is healthy competition, they can compete to become that number one spinner.

"Hopefully you get that competition of somebody who’s very good and can become the best."