England announce 17-member squad for India series; Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler return

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Wednesday announced a 17-member squad for the first two Tests against India, starting August 4. England All-Rounder Ben Stokes and Wicketkeeper-Batsman Jos Buttler will return for the opening two Tests after missing out on the red-ball series against New Zealand in June. Ben Stokes was ruled out of the New Zealand series due to a finger injury he sustained while playing in the Indian Premier League in May. Earlier this month, Stokes led a young England side to victory over Pakistan in a three-match ODI series. 

Ace England Bowler Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes remain unavailable for selection due to the injuries they sustained earlier this year. The ECB has stated that Archer is not yet ready to play in the Test series because he is still recovering from a right elbow injury. Jonny Bairstow and Sam Curran will also make a comeback in the Tests against India. Meanwhile, Ollie Robinson, who made his Test debut against the Kiwis earlier last month, has also been included in the squad for the India series, courtesy of his seven-wicket haul at Lord's. 

England squad: Joe Root (Yorkshire, Captain), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Dom Bess (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Rory Burns (Surrey), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Sam Curran (Surrey), Haseeb Hameed (Nottinghamshire), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Dom Sibley (Warwickshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Mark Wood (Durham). 

India's Test squad for England series

The Indian Test squad is already in the United Kingdom, playing a three-day practice game against a Select County XI team in order to prepare for the upcoming five-match series. Earlier this month, India suffered a blow after Opener Shubman Gill was ruled out of the team due to an injury to his leg. India is also waiting for its wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and his backup Wriddhiman Saha to return negative COVID-19 results so that they can be re-included in the squad. Pant had tested positive for the disease, while Saha came in close contact with a support staff member who returned a positive result. 

India squad: Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha. 

Image: ECB/Twitter