Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler & Jofra Archer excluded from England's T20I squad against Pakistan

England have announced their 14-member squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Pakistan and even though some limited-overs specialists make their way into the side, three of their star-studded players have been excluded from the squad.

Stokes, Buttler, & Archer excluded from England's T20I squad

England have decided to exclude star all-rounder Ben Stokes, wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler and, premier pacer Jofra Archer from their 14-member squad for the shortest format. This has been confirmed by the governing body of world cricket, the International Cricket Council (ICC) on their official Twitter handle. Buttler and Archer's exclusion is yet to be confirmed as of now.
Stokes on the other hand had to back out from the ongoing three-match Test series against Pakistan midway i.e. after the first Test due to family reasons and has flown back to New Zealand (his home country).

The 2010 World T20 champions will be led by Eoin Morgan. 

England VS Pakistan T20I series

The two teams will be locking horns in a three-match T20I series that will succeed the three-match Test series. Just like the Test series, even the T20Is will be played behind closed doors due to the ongoing global pandemic. The three matches will be played on August 28, 30, and, September 1 respectively at the Old Trafford in Manchester. 

There is a lot at stake as the two teams battle it out in the series-deciding third and final Test match that will be played on Friday.

Winner takes it all

With the series on the line after having snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the first Test at the Old Trafford, Manchester, Pakistan had no choice but to win the following Test in order to stay alive in the three-match Test series. Skipper Azhar Ali won a crucial toss at the Ageas Rose Bowl in Southampton and decided to bat first on a wicket that was expected to slow down as the contest progressed.

However, the visitors suffered yet another batting collapse and bundled out for 236 riding on a fighting half-century from wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan. Just when it appeared that the hosts were in the driver's seat to seal the series, rain played spoilsport. Day 3 was completely abandoned without a ball being bowled and eventually, the contest ended in a stalemate. 
The third and final Test match will be played from August 21-25. It remains to be seen whether Pakistan can stage a remarkable comeback and level the series or will England have the last laugh and end up registering their second consecutive Test series win.