Smith has been England’s one-day opener in their past nine matches, though has not played a T20 since June. The 25-year-old struggled in the one-dayers in New Zealand that preceded the Ashes, then has managed only one half-century in eight innings in Australia.
In contrast, 28-year-old Tongue has been England’s breakout star of the Ashes, claiming 12 wickets in his two Tests. He is in the squad for the T20s and not the ODIs.
Cox, the leading run-scorer in last year’s Hundred, can feel unfortunate to miss out. Tom Banton gets the nod as middle-order batting cover.
Duckett is in both squads despite a difficult Ashes and looks set to bring his Test opening partnership with Crawley to one-day internationals as England look for a combination that can build towards the 50-over World Cup.
Crawley has played eight one-day internationals, the last of which in West Indies in December 2023 was also his last List A game.
Root, who turns 35 on Tuesday, would have been a potential candidate to rest after the Ashes, yet travels to Sri Lanka for the ODIs only. His next cricket would then likely come in the home summer.
All-rounder Jacks missed the tour of New Zealand as he recovered from a broken finger and returns to both squads as one of a number of spin options in the subcontinental conditions.
Jacks joins Adil Rashid, Liam Dawson, Rehan Ahmed and Bethell in the slow-bowling ranks.
Along with Nepal, England join West Indies, Bangladesh and tournament debutants Italy in Group C of the T20 World Cup. All of their matches take place in Kolkata and Mumbai.
If Brook’s men finish in the top two, they would progress to a second-round group that could include New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The top two from that group advance to the semi-finals.