England all-rounder Brydon Carse has been ruled out for the remainder of the ICC Champions Trophy by an injury to his left toe.
Carse missed the last two one-day internationals against India due to a blister on a left toe that required stitches, which were taken out last week, allowing him to play in England’s five-wicket defeat by Australia.
The fast bowler struggled in England’s Champions Trophy opener in Lahore on Saturday, going at almost 10 runs an over with figures of 7-0-69-1, and he has suffered a re-occurrence of the injury.
Leicestershire leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed has been named as his replacement and will join the squad in Pakistan later this week.
England are permitted to make a change to their 15-strong squad in case of injury and the International Cricket Council announced on Monday afternoon the replacement of Ahmed for Carse had been ratified.
While not a like-for-like Champions Trophy replacement, leg-spinner Ahmed offers England an extra dimension to their attack after their quicks struggled against Australia, with Carse, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer uniting for figures of 3-226 from 26.3 overs.
Adil Rashid, supplemented by Root and Liam Livingstone, took a combined 2-120 from 21 overs on a pitch that showed signs of variable bounce before the evening dew helped the ball skid on under lights.
England racked up the highest total in Champions Trophy history at the weekend, amassing 351-8, before it was overtaken just a few hours later as Australia won with 15 balls to spare.
With Afghanistan also beaten in their tournament opener – as South Africa claimed a 107-run win in Karachi on Friday – whoever loses in Lahore in midweek is likely staring at an early exit.
ICC Champions Trophy 2025 – results and fixtures 🏏
Group A
Group B
Semi-finals
- March 4: Semi-final – A1 v B2 (Dubai)
- March 5: Semi-final 2 – A2 v B1 (Lahore)
Final
- March 9: Final (Lahore or Dubai)