Sri Lanka T20I: England have named their Playing XI for the first of the three T20Is against Sri Lanka at home, as Aneurin Donald is all set to make his debut. Donald, the 29-year-old Derbyshire wicketkeeper-batter, will be opening the innings along with Jos Buttler as Phil Salt is out due to a quadriceps injury.
Donald is an aggressive player who tied Ravi Shastri's record for the fastest double century in first-class cricket in July 2017 for Glamorgan when he was 19 years old. He also played in the 2016 U19 World Cup with Sam Curran, Dan Lawrence and Saqib Mahmood, but he came into the limelight after his move to Derbyshire in 2023.
He caught white-ball head coach Brendon McCullum's attention after his stroke-filled 38 off 19 balls for Trent Rockets in The Hundred final, where he was his team's highest run-scorer as Manchester Super Giants won the title.
England are missing several first-choice players as Jacob Bethell and Sam Curran are also not part of the three T20Is and as many ODIs against Sri Lanka due to a knee and a groin injury, respectively.
Meanwhile, Jordan Cox will be playing his first T20I since October 2025 as he is also part of the Playing XI with Bethell missing. Having earned a recall for the Sri Lanka T20Is, Gus Atkinson and Ben Duckett have not been part of the Playing XI for the opener.
Jofra Archer is also not in the team despite being named in both the white-ball squads, as Sonny Baker is set to earn his second T20I cap after making his debut at Dublin last year against Ireland.
Meanwhile, Jordan Cox will be playing his first T20I since October 2025 as he is also part of the Playing XI with Bethell missing. Having earned a recall for the Sri Lanka T20Is, Gus Atkinson and Ben Duckett have not been part of the Playing XI for the opener.
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The ODIs will begin on September 22 at Chester-Le-Street, with the second and third matches set to take place on September 24 and 27 at Leeds and The Oval.