Picture Credit: ECB
England Cricket Board (ECB) have announced the squad for the national side for the opening two Tests against India. The 5-match Test series is set to begin next month, with the first Test scheduled to begin on August 4 at Trent Bridge. The second match of the series will be played from August 12 onwards at Lord's. Notably, England's head coach Chris Silverwood named a very strong-looking 17-member squad, with all the key players included in the side.
Joe Root will lead the side and will be delighted to have all the senior players fit and available for the opening two encounters of their WTC 2021-23 campaign. The trio of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow have made their return to the side after missing the 2-match Test series against New Zealand that took place last month.
The England squad is as follows:
1. Joe Root (Yorkshire) Captain
2. James Anderson (Lancashire)
3. Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire)
4. Dom Bess (Yorkshire)
5. Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)
6. Rory Burns (Surrey)
7. Jos Buttler (Lancashire)
8. Zak Crawley (Kent)
9. Sam Curran (Surrey)
10. Haseeb Hameed (Nottinghamshire)
11. Dan Lawrence (Essex)
12. Jack Leach (Somerset)
13. Ollie Pope (Surrey)
14. Ollie Robinson (Sussex)
15. Dom Sibley (Warwickshire)
16. Ben Stokes (Durham)
17. Mark Wood (Durham)
Jofra Archer misses the cut; Ollie Robinson included
England pacer Jofra Archer, who had underwent an elbow surgery two months, has expectedly missed out on the opportunity to be fit in time for the first two sets. Archer has made a comeback to competitive cricket as he featured for Sussex in the Vitality Blast clash against Kent on Sunday where he registered figures for 0/20 in 3 overs.
Although the 26-year-old could be available for selection for the final three Tests against India, it is very unlikely that Archer will play Tests this summer. The pacer had earlier revealed that his priority was to be fit and available for T20 World Cup followed by the Ashes. Hence, it is expected that Archer will continue his return in the shortest format of the game as of now as he gets set to represent Southern Brave in 'The Hundred'.
On the other hand, pacer Ollie Robinson has been included in the squad after ECB had confirmed earlier that the 27-year-old won't be facing any more punishment for his controversial tweets in past. Notably, Robinson has only played one Test so far where he took 7 wickets on his debut against New Zealand.