England selects Chris woakes in the T-20 side after a gap of 6 years

London:The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Saturday named a 16-player T20I squad for the three-match series against Sri Lanka, starting on June 23.

All-rounder Chris Woakes and left-arm pace bowler David Willey made a return to the squad.

Woakes, who has been a regular member of the ODI side, last played for England in a T20I in November 2015 against Pakistan while Willey hasn't represented the national team in the shortest format since May 2019.

Left-arm spinner Liam Dawson, who hasn't played a T20I since 2018, was also named as of three specialist spinners in the squad.

Meanwhile, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Reece Topley weren't considered for selection as they are recovering from finger, elbow and side strain injuries respectively.

"With the T20 World Cup only a few months away, this summer is about perfecting our team and continue to progress on the field. We want to approach every series with an influx of players aiming to win every match and giving us the best preparation as we get closer to the tournament," England Men's Head Coach, Chris Silverwood, said.

"With several high-profile players missing through injury, it allows me to look at some of our experienced players who have not featured at this level for some time. The likes of Chris Woakes and David Willey are very experienced cricketers, and to have them both in the mix is exciting and shows the depth of squad we have available.

I want our team to play an attacking form of the game. I hope we can continue to excite the England fans with our approach," he added.The first two T20Is of the series will be played in Cardiff on June 23 and 24 respectively while Southampton will host the third and final game on June 26.

England squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler (WK), Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.(UNI)