England and Wales cricket board has announced a 17-man squad for the first two Test matches against India in which Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes have missed due to respective injuries. Archer is currently recuperating and had undergone elbow surgery in May.
Meanwhile, Haseeb Hameed and Ollie Robinson have been picked in the side. Hameed is currently playing for County Select XI against the Indians in the one-off three-day warm-up match. The right-hander has scored a fifty and he will look to continue the good show.
In fact, the right-hander had made his Test debut back against India in 2016 in tough Indian conditions and had also impressed with his technique.
Hameed had scored 219 runs in three Test matches at a decent average of 43.8, including two fifties but surprisingly didn’t get any chances after that. Thus, Hameed will make a comeback into the Test after five years. Furthermore, the right-hander is in good form in the ongoing County Championship season as he has scored 642 runs in nine matches at an average of 45.85.
On the other hand, Ollie Robinson can now resume his International career after investigation of his controversial tweets.
“A home Test series against India is one of the most anticipated red-ball series and this promises to be an outstanding five Tests,” head coach Chris Silverwood said. “India are a quality team who have shown their ability to get results away from home. We are expecting a highly competitive series and have selected our strongest possible squad.
“The returns of all-rounders Ben Stokes and Sam Curran provide balance that allows us to get back to a structure that has been successful in Test cricket. Ben’s leadership in the series against Pakistan, when he played despite his finger not yet being 100 percent, typified his character and commitment that drove the players around him forward. With Jos and Jonnny back in the squad, we have added further experience and quality that will be needed against the world’s second-ranked team.
“We have selected Ollie Robinson after his seven-wicket Test debut against New Zealand. Ollie proved in that Test that he has the ability to replicate his outstanding form in the County Championship at the international level and we will continue to work with him to develop his England career.”
Squad: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Mark Wood.
