New Delhi, June 5 (IANS) Opener Phil Salt will miss England’s upcoming three-match T20I series against the West Indies after being granted paternity leave, said the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Thursday.

The ECB in its statement said wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith is now Salt’s replacement in the squad. “Salt, who is taking time away on paternity leave following the birth of his child earlier this week, will now spend time at home,” further said the ECB.

Salt had gone back home for the birth of his child after playing a match-winning knock of 56 not out off 27 balls in Royal Challengers Bengaluru beating Punjab Kings in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025 in New Chandigarh.

He then reached Ahmedabad at 3am on Tuesday morning ahead of the title clash against Punjab Kings, which RCB won by six runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium to win their maiden IPL trophy. Though Salt made only 16 runs in the final, his relay catch to dismiss Priyansh Arya set the tone for RCB to end their 18-year long wait of achieving championship glory.

Salt has been one of the standout performers for RCB winning the IPL 2025 season by scoring 403 runs in 13 matches at an average of 33.58 and a strike rate of 175.98. He also hit four half-centuries while smashing 48 fours and 22 sixes. Salt was previously a member of the Kolkata Knight Riders team winning IPL 2024.

England’s T20I series against the West Indies gets underway at the Riverside Ground in Durham on Friday evening, with further matches to be held in Bristol and Southampton on June 8 and 10 respectively.

England’s T20I squad: Harry Brook (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Jamie Smith, and Luke Wood

–IANS

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