5 England players who may have played their last T20I at 2024 T20 World Cup ft. Mark Wood
While England cricket team's defense of their T20 World Cup crown was slightly better than that of their 50-over title, it was not enough to become a successful campaign. After losing to India by 68 runs in the semi-final, Jos Buttler and Co. crashed out of the tournament.
With Buttler underlining the need for an honest review after a deflating campaign and England having an aging squad, it's likely that a new set of players will be in by the time of T20 World Cup 2026. A handful of players might even have played their final T20I.
5 England players who might have played their last T20I
1) Jonny Bairstow
Jonny Bairstow is set to be one of the first casualties ahead of the next T20 World Cup due to a poor campaign in this year's tournament. The Yorkshire cricketer managed only 110 runs in eight matches, averaging 27.50, but striking at a decent 134.50.
An experienced campaigner, Bairstow failed to produce the goods in the semi-final against India, departing cheaply, thereby derailing England's promising start to the run-chase. The defending champions did have an effective T20 player in Will Jacks; hence, it begged the question of persisting with Bairstow.
2) Moeen Ali
With Moeen Ali retiring from Test cricket after the 2023 Ashes series, he only plays in the limited-overs format at the international level. Having made his T20I debut in 2014, the veteran all-rounder's career in the shortest form hasn't really taken off. In 92 T20Is, the all-rounder has managed 1,229 runs and has taken 51 wickets.
As far as Moeen's 2024 campaign goes, he racked up 71 runs, while the off-spin yielded three wickets. At 37, the spin-bowling all-rounder is unlikely to stick around for too long and the England selectors themselves will be looking for players capable of playing longer.
3) Chris Jordan
While Chris Jordan has played all three formats for England, he is a bona fide T20 specialist and is considered a death-overs operator. He was part of their victory in the 2022 T20 World Cup and bowled well in the semi-final against Team India in Adelaide.
With 108 scalps in 95 T20I matches for England, he is their second-highest wicket-taker. The 35-year-old also became the first English cricketer to claim a hat-trick in T20Is and had a promising season with 10 wickets in five T20Is. Nevertheless, Jordan does have the tendency to be slightly expensive at times.
Moreover, the selectors would look to phase the veteran out soon due to his age.
4) Mark Wood
Right-arm paceman Mark Wood has had a start-stop T20I career and has mainly been rested from bilateral games due to being injury prone. However, he has impressive numbers in the format. In 34 matches, the right-arm speedster has claimed 50 scalps at 19.58.
The Durham pacer endured an underwhelming campaign in T20 World Cup 2024, managing only three scalps in five matches at 37.67. It is very much likely that Wood will give up his T20I career to prolong his Test career, especially since he is already 34.
5) Adil Rashid
Adil Rashid has been England's premier spinner in white-ball cricket since their revolution in the format since the 2015 World Cup debacle. The spin wizard has been consistently delivering the goods and was a chief architect behind their World Cup win in 2022 in Australia.
He also had a good tournament this year, taking 10 scalps in eight matches at 18.60 alongside an economy rate of 6.64. However, Rashid is yet another player to be on the wrong side of the 30s. The leggie will still stick with the squad until the 2025 Champions Trophy, but the selectors may feel the need to groom a replacement soon.
It remains doubtful if the 36-year-old, the highest wicket-taker for them in the shortest form, will still be around by the time of T20 World Cup 2026.