Richard Gleeson named in England Twenty20 squad versus India
- Published
Richard Gleeson is the leading English wicket-taker in this season's Blast with 20 and joint-second overall
England have called up uncapped Lancashire seamer Richard Gleeson for their Twenty20 international series against India.
Gleeson, 34, has taken 70 wickets in 64 domestic T20 matches, including a career-best 5-33 against Worcestershire Rapids in this season's Blast.
New England limited-overs captain Jos Buttler will take charge of an otherwise familiar squad for the three T20s and three one-day internationals.
The first T20 is on 7 July.
Adil Rashid has been given permission by the England & Wales Cricket Board to miss both series to make The Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca so Lancashire's Matthew Parkinson will be England's frontline spinner.
Yorkshire's Harry Brook, who has scored 384 runs in nine innings in this season's Blast at an average of 48.00, is also named in both white-ball squads.
He made his sole T20 appearance for England against West Indies during the winter.
The T20 and ODI series will be Buttler's first in charge since replacing World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan, who retired from international cricket this week after injury and form struggles.
Speaking to BBC Test Match Special, wicketkeeper Buttler said: "What has been spoken about in the last few years is about not setting boundaries, pushing the limits and we've got a number of players in there who will keep pushing those boundaries.
"There is a very healthy competition for places and trying to name a squad is tough."
"Being captain will be a good experience for me, learning if there is anything I need to change.
"If you're asking people to be aggressive and not set limitations, it is important how you play yourself. As long I as continue to play in that fashion, hopefully I can inspire others to play in the same vein."
England multi-format players Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Test captain Ben Stokes are also named in the squad for the ODI series along with Craig Overton.
Stokes is not in the T20 squad but Buttler said he was "really keen" for the Durham all-rounder to be involved in the format, building towards the T20 World Cup in Australia in October and November.
Tom Banton, James Vince, George Garton and Sam Billings, who all featured in the five-match T20 series with West Indies in January, are not selected.
Left-arm seamers David Payne and Luke Wood, part of England's squad for their recent ODI series with the Netherlands, also miss out.
Dawid Malan, who struck a maiden ODI century in England's world record total of 498-4 against the Dutch last month, is included in the T20 squad only.
'No red ball in my bag' - Buttler
Buttler was dropped from the Test team following a poor Ashes series in Australia, where he scored only 107 runs at an average of 15.28.
Despite strong showings in 2018 and 2020 in the longest format, Buttler has had a mixed Test career, scoring 2,907 runs in 57 matches at an average of 31.94, with two centuries.
Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara suggested during England's third Test win over New Zealand that Buttler could return to the side as an opener, given the aggressive approach adopted under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.
However, when asked about the possibility of opening in Tests, Buttler said: "I thought someone had written the wrong story, to be honest. I don't think there is much merit in that.
"I've just been enjoying watching the Test side recently. There is no red ball in my bag at the moment."
When asked if becoming white-ball captain ruled out a Test return, Buttler said: "Potentially. It's quite obvious I was left out on merit. Rightfully so. I had a poor Ashes series.
"The Test team is playing fantastically well so it doesn't look like a team that needs people to get into it.
"Captaining the white-ball team is my number one priority so I'm really excited for that.
"Talking about the Test stuff might be a question that never has to be answered unless someone wants to pick me for the team - which hasn't been the case."
England squad for T20 series: Jos Buttler (capt, wk), Moeen Ali, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Richard Gleeson, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Matthew Parkinson, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, David Willey.
England squad for ODI series: Jos Buttler (capt, wk), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Craig Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey.