Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Rory Burns return to England squad for first two Tests against India; Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran and Mark Wood rested for games in Chennai; Ollie Pope will travel to India and be added to England squad when fully fit
Last Updated: 21/01/21 1:45pm
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Captain Joe Root says the return of influential pair Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer for the India series will provide a boost to England
Captain Joe Root says the return of influential pair Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer for the India series will provide a boost to England
Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Rory Burns will return to the England squad for the first two Tests of the four-match series in India, with Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran and Mark Wood rested.
All-rounder Stokes and fast bowler Archer were rested for the ongoing two-match series in Sri Lanka, while opening batsman Burns remained at home in England for the birth of his first child.
However, all three are back as part of a 16-man squad for the series opener in Chennai from February 5 and then the second Test at the same venue from February 13.
Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes
The squad for the final two matches of the series, in Ahmedabad from February 24 and March 4 respectively, will be announced in due course.
Batsman Bairstow, all-rounder Curran and fast bowler Wood will be rested for the first two fixtures in Chennai as England continue to manage the workload of their multi-format players.
Jonny Bairstow will be rested for the first two Tests against India in Chennai
Batsman Ollie Pope will travel to India and be officially added to the squad when he is passed fit, having dislocated his shoulder during the final Test against Pakistan in Southampton in August.
Pope has been with England in Sri Lanka and scored 58 from 91 deliveries in an internal warm-up match ahead of the first Test in Galle.
Ollie Pope will travel to India and be added to England’s squad when passed fit
Dan Lawrence retains his place after an impressive debut against Sri Lanka – the Essex batsman scoring 73 in the first innings and, along with Bairstow, steering England to victory in the second innings – while all-rounder Moeen Ali is included as he continues his comeback from coronavirus.
Off-spinner Moeen missed the first Test against Sri Lanka due to his quarantine period having tested positive upon arrival, while he was not considered ready for the second game of the series, which starts on Friday.
James Bracey (Gloucestershire), Mason Crane (Hampshire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Matthew Parkinson (Lancashire), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Amar Virdi (Surrey)
England have named six reserves for the first two Tests against India – spinners Mason Crane, Amar Virdi and Matt Parkinson, wicketkeeper-batsman James Bracey and seamers Saqib Mahmood and Ollie Robinson.
India won 2-1 in Australia after inflicting the hosts’ first defeat at The Gabba since 1988
Fast bowler Craig Overton, who joined those six players as a reserve in Sri Lanka, will return home – subject to the fitness of the rest of the squad – with Stokes and Archer re-joining the group.
India – who sit top of the inaugural World Test Championship – are toasting a stunning Test series win in Australia, with an injury-hit side, also without regular captain Virat Kohli due to paternity leave, completing a 2-1 win to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Kohli’s side have not been beaten in a Test series at home since an England side led by Sir Alastair Cook triumphed 2-1 in 2012, with England beaten 4-0 on their last visit in 2016.
