Selection surprises as England announce squad for Women's T20 World Cup

NEW DELHI: England's squad for the upcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup was announced on Tuesday, with the team rewarding strong individual performances from their recent domestic competition.The 15-player group, led by regular skipper Heather Knight, includes spinner Linsey Smith, pacer Lauren Bell, all-rounder Dani Gibson, and keeper-batter Bess Heath, who all earned their spots based on their impressive performances during the recent edition of The Hundred, reported ANI.However, the selection process also meant that some experienced players, such as opener Tammy Beaumont, seamer Kate Cross, and young quick Lauren Filer, were not included in the final squad.Beaumont's exclusion comes despite her return of 164 runs during the recent edition of The Hundred.England have rewarded strong individual performances from their recent domestic competition when revealing their squad for the upcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup on Tuesday.England, the inaugural Women's T20 World Cup champions, find themselves in Group B alongside Bangladesh, Scotland, South Africa, and the West Indies for the ninth edition of the event.Captain Heather Knight expressed her excitement as the team prepares to face the T20 World Cup challenge."World Cups are always special events to be involved in as a player and I'm really excited by the squad we have selected to take over to the UAE. It's an honour to lead the team into another World Cup. We're looking forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead," Knight said as quoted by ICC.Head coach Jon Lewis said, "I feel the 15 players selected give us a really well-balanced squad in terms of experience, youth and most importantly the skills to cope and excel in the conditions we feel we will be faced with in the UAE."England Women's squad for ICC T20 World Cup: Heather Knight (c), Danni Wyatt, Sophia Dunkley, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Alice Capsey, Amy Jones (wk), Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean, Sarah Glenn, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Linsey Smith, Freya Kemp, Dani Gibson, Bess Heath.