Champions Trophy: England call up Ahmed to replace injured Carse
Brydon Carse struggled in England's opener, and a recurring toe injury has now forced him to withdraw from the rest of the Champions Trophy.
Brydon Carse has been ruled out of the rest of England's Champions Trophy campaign due to a toe injury, with Rehan Ahmed called up to replace him.
The all-rounder missed their last two ODIs against India prior to the tournament due to a blister on his left toe that required stitches, which were removed last week, allowing him to play against Australia.
However, Carse struggled in England's opener and returned figures of 1-69 from seven overs in their five-wicket defeat, and a recurrence of the injury means he has withdrawn from the squad ahead of their Group B encounter with Afghanistan.
England's pace trio of Carse, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood took 3-226 across 26.3 overs against Australia, who mounted an epic comeback to stun Brendon McCullum's team on Saturday.
Gutted to be losing you, Brydon
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) February 24, 2025
Ahmed, who is not expected to be in Pakistan in time to play England's next match, has taken 10 wickets in six ODIs and took a five-wicket haul on his Test debut in Pakistan in 2022.
Carse's absence should mean a return to the starting line-up for Jamie Overton, though Ahmed, who was an unused member of the India tour, could be involved in the final group game against South Africa on Saturday.
Having lost to Australia, England will likely need to win both of their remaining games to reach the semi-finals.
Updated England squad:
Jos Buttler (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Tom Banton, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood, Rehan Ahmed.