England announced their Playing XI for first Test against India on Wednesday. The first Test will be played at Headingley, Leeds from June 20. Ben Stokes and Co. have retained Ollie Pope at number three for the first Test, dropping Jacob Bethell who did incredibly well for them in the previous tour.
Pope Retained, Bethell Misses Out
The decision to stick with vice-captain Ollie Pope comes amid questions about his spot in the top order. While Pope showed glimpses of brilliance with a 171 against Zimbabwe, his record against top-tier teams like India and Australia remains concerning. In 18 combined Tests against the two, Pope averages just 22.05, well below his career average of 35.49.
Jacob Bethell, 21, was in contention for a place after impressing with three half-centuries in as many Tests against New Zealand last year. He also recently scored 82 in an ODI against West Indies and boasts a healthy average of 52 from his limited Test appearances. However, despite the buzz, he’s yet to notch a professional century. Bethell missed the Zimbabwe Test due to IPL duties with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and while Stokes initially hinted at Bethell’s immediate return, he later clarified his comments were about the squad selection being misunderstood. According to Alastair Cook, Bethell opting to play IPL has not went in his favour.
Bowling Changes and Stability Elsewhere
England have made two changes from the side that played against Zimbabwe. Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse come in for Sam Cook and Gus Atkinson, strengthening the pace attack. The rest of the lineup remains unchanged, with familiar faces like Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, and debutant keeper-batter Jamie Smith all holding their spots.
England’s XI for the First Test vs India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.
India Squad for England Test Series:
Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (wk) (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav
