Phil Salt set to miss the England vs West Indies T20Is

Phil Salt has opted for paternity leave upon his return to England following the title-winning campaign at IPL 2025. The English batter played a significant part in Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally lifting their maiden IPL trophy after a wait of 18 years. Salt, at the top, provided the firepower to the RCB lineup in the powerplay. Now, upon his return to England, Phil Salt is set to miss the England vs West Indies T20Is. There had been reports about Salt leaving the RCB camp ahead of the IPL 2025 playoffs and heading to England to welcome his baby into the world. However, the update was a hurried one, as Salt Jr. arrived hours after Salt won the trophy with RCB.

A massive congratulations to @PhilSalt1 and his partner on the birth of their first child 👏👶

Meet your new boss, Salt Jr 🫡

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 5, 2025

The England vs West Indies T20Is are scheduled to kickstart from June 6 in Durham. Meanwhile, sending Salt on his paternity leave, England have called up Jamie Smith in their T20I squad for the three-match series against West Indies. Harry Brook capped off his white-ball captaincy stint with England successfully with a 3-0 whitewash against West Indies in the ODI series at home. Now, before the focus shifts to Test cricket, the West Indies tour of England will hold three T20Is.

Phil Salt starred for RCB in IPL 2025, emerging as a top factor behind the team's maiden title victory. The opener scored 403 runs in 15 innings at an average of 33.58 and a strike rate of 175.98. Salt missed two matches at the group stage due to illness, as his compatriot Jacob Bethell filled in as the opener for RCB. Salt returned to the RCB playing XI upon the resumption of the season following a week-long suspension. Moreover, Salt starred in the Qualifier 1 against PBKS, where he remained unbeaten at 56 to take the chase home and led RCB into the IPL 2025 Final.

While Salt's IPL 2025 exploits present him as an in-form pick for England against West Indies in the ODI series, the batter would remain absent. Surrey batter Jamie Smith gets a chance to leave a mark as he replaces Salt in the England squad. Meanwhile, England also announced their Test squad for the first match of the upcoming India tour of England. Gus Atkinson has been ruled out due to an injury sustained during the one-off Test against Zimbabwe.

England squad for the T20I series against West Indies: 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