England tour of India 2024: Ben Stokes to lead spin-heavy 16-member squad for 5-Test series
England named a strong 16-member squad for their 5-Test series in India from January 25 to March 11.
Ben Stokes has been named the captain of the side which has as many as 4 frontline spinners. After the retirement of Moeen Ali, England have called up two uncapped spinners in 20-year-old Shoaib Bashir, a tall off-spinner, and 24-year-old Tom Hartley, a left-arm spinner.
Veteran pacer James Anderson finds his place in the squad after Stuart Broad’s retirement following the Ashes earlier in the year. England have picked Jack Leach and Rehan Ahmed as part of their 4-man spin attack.
ENGLAND SQUAD FOR INDIA TESTS 2024
Ben Stokes, James Anderson, Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson*, Jonny Bairstow, Shoib Bashir*, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley*, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood. (* indicates uncapped players).
Fast bowler Gus Atkinson, who was in fine form in the County Championship last summer, has been called-up along with Anderson, Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson in the pace battery. Atkinson was in India for the World Cup campaign earlier in the year.
WHO ARE HARTLEY AND BASHIR?
Meanwhile, Hartley and Bashir were both part of the England Lions squad that trained in the United Arab Emirates last month. They were joined in the UAE by vice-captain Ollie Pope and Jack Leach to step up their preparations as they return to Test duty following injury, ECB said in a statement.
While there is no place for Jos Buttler still, Ben Foakes and Jonny Bairstow are the two wicketkeepers in the squad. Foakes did not play a single game in the Ashes, but England might opt for the specialist wicketkeeper on what is expected to be turning pitches in India.
Openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett have retained their place after a good Ashes campaign while Joe Root, Harry Brook and Bairstow form a formidabble middle-order.
ENGLAND TOUR OF INDIA 2024 – 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
WILL BEN STOKES BE AVAILABLE?
England have expressed confidence in Ben Stokes and named him the captain for the Test series. The Test captain underwent successful knee surgery in November and is recovering, targetting a return during the India series.
Chennai Super Kings released Ben Stokes ahead of IPL 2024 auction, saying he made himself unavailable for the tournament.
BAZBALL IN INDIA?
England have been on a rampant winning run, revamping their style of play since the horror run in Ashes in Australia in 2021-22. A Test series defeat in West Indies followed and England underwent massive change to their leadership structure.
Ben Stokes took over from Joe Root and Brendon McCullum was appointed as the head coach. The team has ever since played a fearless style of cricket that is popularly known as ‘Bazball’.
McCullum, in a recent interaction in Bengaluru, acknowledged the difficulty of beating India in India, but said there will be no change to their style of play.
“We have got a huge challenge against a very good Indian team in five tests in India. I am excited about it because you want to test yourself against the best side and I genuinely believe that India is the best in their own condition. It is going to be a good challenge for us. If we have success then fabulous, if we don’t then I know we will go down in the style that we want to go down.” McCullum said at the RCB Innovation Lab’s Leaders Meet India.