England Announces 14-Member Squad for the First Test Against India

England has announced a 14-member squad for the much-anticipated first Test against India, starting on June 20. Jamie Overton has been surprisingly called up to replace his Surrey teammate Gus Atkinson. Atkinson was initially part of the squad but was later dropped due to a hamstring injury. Both Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse, who missed the Zimbabwe Test due to niggles, are also included in the squad.

Overton made his debut in June 2022 against New Zealand at Headingley, playing a match-winning innings of 97 with the bat and taking a wicket in each innings. However, he is yet to feature in another Test for England, making it more than two years since his last appearance in whites. Overton broke his finger in an ODI against the West Indies and has been struggling ever since to make a full comeback.

Luke Wright, England's selector, spoke about Overton’s inclusion and selection ahead of Matthew Potts as seam-bowling cover.
"We've spoken many times about our varied attack and making sure that we've still got some pace in the attack," Wright said. "Jamie showed in white-ball cricket that he's got a huge amount of pace and bounce, and he's a real threat.

"He's obviously had a taste of Test cricket before and did well, getting some runs, which was great. He's going back to a ground where he did well—Leeds—and for us, it's about making sure we've got options. If one of those quicker bowlers were to go down, then we've got someone who could replace him, and Jamie is a great one to have available."

The biggest headache for the selection panel would be at the top order with the return of Jacob Bethell. He missed the Zimbabwe Test due to the IPL, but his performance in the New Zealand series may create a problem or two for Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope at the top. Though Bethell scored three half-centuries at No. 3 against the Kiwis, Crawley and Pope’s centuries against Zimbabwe might be enough for them to retain their places.

Talking about Bethell’s inclusion in the playing XI, Wright said:
"He's very close. It's a great option to have, isn't it? It's lovely to have him back—what a talent we all see in him. When Baz and Stokesy took on these roles, we were really struggling as a batting group to get runs on the board. We're getting to a point now where we're seeing real depth in that squad, which is fantastic."

Ben Stokes returns to lead the English side once again, though the team has changed significantly since they last faced India in early 2024. England will be without James Anderson due to his retirement, while Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes, and Ollie Robinson are also unavailable.

India will also be without many of the star players from their last tour against England. Skipper Rohit Sharma has retired, and the captaincy mantle has been passed on to the young Shubman Gill. Indian legend Virat Kohli has also announced his retirement and will be a huge miss—not just for the Indian side, but for fans around the world. Ashwin is another notable absentee, having retired as well.

England squad for first Test vs India: Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Ben Stokes (capt), Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.