Cricket News

England announce 16-member men’s squad for five-match Test series against India

With a surprising inclusion of three uncapped players in the Tests, the England Men’s selection committee announced the 16-member squad for the upcoming five-match Test series against India in January 2024. The three uncapped players include the likes of Surrey pacer Gus Atkinson, alongside two off-spinners Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir from Lancashire and Somerset, respectively.

Atkinson was quite impressive with the ball in his five appearances in the English County Championship, where he scalped 20 wickets at a brilliant average of 20.20 helping Surrey to clinch second successive County title.

On the other hand, Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley were associated with the squad of England Lions, during a recently-concluded training camp in UAE last month in November. Apart from these uncapped players, two other stars, Ollie Pope and Jack Leach will also make their return for England in Tests after recovering from their respective injuries.

Leicestershire leggie Rehan Ahmed, who made it to the headlines for his impressive five-wicket while making his Test debut against Pakistan in Pakistan last year in December, has also made a cut to the national men’s squad for the Test series against India next month.

Here’s a look at the England squad for the Test series against India:

Ben Stokes (C), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (WK), Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, and Mark Wood.

Here’s the schedule of the India vs England Test Series:

First Test – India vs England, January 25-29, Hyderabad,

Second Test – India vs England, February 2-6, Vizag,

Third Test – India vs England, February 15-19, Rajkot,

Fourth Test – India vs England, February 23-27, Ranchi, and

Fifth Test – India vs England, March 7-11, Dharamsala.

Notably, the India tour will be the second away assignment for England as they are currently in action in an ongoing away series against West Indies after the conclusion of the ODI World Cup 2023.