England's Caribbean tour preponed to accommodate India's home series against the West Indies

England's tour of the West Indies in 2022 will start earlier than initially scheduled after India announced their home season. It has emerged that the BCCI has also arranged a home series against the West Indies, starting on the 6th of February.

According to the Daily Mail, England's fixtures in the West Indies will start six days early - from the 22nd of January. England's five-match T20 series in the Caribbean, initially concluding on the 5th of February, will now end on the 30th of January.

It also means that England's Test players will travel to the Caribbean after the Ashes in Australia and not play the T20s. They will reach the West Indies to gear up for the three-Test series starting in March. The series is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23; however, the venues for the fixtures are yet to be announced.

England players likely to miss the Big Bash League

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Star England players like Sam Billings, Saqib Mahmood and Chris Jordan are amongst those expected to feature in the BBL. However, if selected, they will skip the group stage fixtures and the knockouts.

Sydney Thunder have re-signed Sam Billings for the upcoming edition, while Saqib Mahmood is a new addition. He was excellent in the white-ball series at home against Pakistan, playing a significant role in England's win.

The Caribbean tour could also likely be when star all-rounder Ben Stokes returns to international cricket. Stokes took a mental health break in July, opting out of the home Test series against India. He has skipped the second phase of IPL 2021 in the UAE and is not part of England's World T20 squad either.

Additionally, England haven't won a Test series in the Caribbean since their 2003-04 tour. The 2019 series ended in a 2-1 victory for Jason Holder's men despite the tourists entering as the favorites.