England Test Squad For India Tour 2024: Ben Foakes Returns As Visitors Name Three Uncapped Players

Add as a preferred source on Google

England has announced a 16-member squad for next year's tour of India, where they will face the hosts in a five-match Test series, starting from January 25, 2024 in Hyderabad.

This will be England's first Test assignment since veteran pacer Stuart Broad announced his retirement after the Ashes earlier this year at home. His pace bowling partner, James Anderson, however is still part of the red ball team led by Ben Stokes.

Stokes, who pulled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 to manage workload, underwent surgery on his troublesome knee last month and is expected to be fit in time for the India series.

The England men's selection panel has also named three uncapped players at Test level with pacer Gus Atkinson (Surrey) joined by off-spinners Tom Hartley (Lancashire) and Shoaib Bashir (Somerset).

Atkinson had claimed 20 wickets in five County Championship matches last summer at an average of 20.20 as Surrey claimed back-to-back titles, while Hartley and Bashir were both part of the England Lions squad that trained in the United Arab Emirates last month.

The trio were joined in the UAE by vice-captain Ollie Pope and Jack Leach, who both stepped up their preparations as they return to Test duty following injury earlier this year.

Leicestershire's teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed also has returned to the Test squad after claiming a five-wicket haul on his Test debut in Pakistan last December. Wicketkeeper-batter Ben Foakes has also been named in the squad after being excluded during the Ashes.

Apart from the three new additions and three players returning to the squad, several Test regulars have retained their spots. Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood and Harry Brook all remain in the squad.

The likes of Josh Tongue, Dan Lawrence, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali, who were part of the Ashes squad, miss out due to different reasons. Here is a look at the England squad and their schedule in India 2024:

England Test Squad For India Tour 2024

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

India vs England 2024 Test Schedule

• 1st Test: 25-29 January, Hyderabad
• 2nd Test: 2-6 February, Vizag
• 3rd Test: 15-19 February, Rajkot
• 4th Test: 23-27 February, Ranchi
• 5th Test: 7-11 March, Dharamsala