The extent of Bethell’s injury will be established in the coming days, but he faces a race against time with England’s Champions Trophy campaign kicking off in less than two weeks against Australia in Lahore. There is optimism around Smith’s recovery, with the Surrey wicketkeeper taking part in the warm-ups on Sunday. The deadline for announcing replacements to the 15-man squad is February 12.
Bethell impressed with 51 and 1 for 18 with his left-arm spin in the first ODI against India, which the hosts won by four wickets. Having impressed on his maiden Test tour of New Zealand at the end of 2024, with three half-centuries and an average of 52, he has been earmarked by head coach Brendon McCullum as a vital cog across all formats.
Banton, meanwhile, has a chance to reignite his international career, having earned the last of his 20 white-ball caps in August 2020. Though he has underwhelmed for England so far, with just three fifty-plus scores across four ODIs and 16 T20Is, he is in a rich vein of form off the back of a stellar ILT20, topping the competition’s batting charts.
The 26-year-old struck 493 runs in 11 outings for MI Emirates, including two centuries, as the franchise reached the Eliminator stage where they were defeated by Sharjah Warriors.
