London, July 21: England have named a 17-player squad for opening two Tests of the five-match Test Series against India starting at Trent Bridge on August 4.
All-rounder Ben Stokes returned to the Test squad after he missed the two-match series against New Zealand in June to enable continued management of the finger injury he sustained during the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021).
Stokes captained England to a 3-0 series win in the Royal London Series against Pakistan earlier this month and has since rested from cricket to optimise his preparation ahead of the India Tests.
Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Sam Curran also come back into the Test squad. Ollie Robinson is included after he took seven wickets on his Test debut against the Black Caps at Lord's. Jofra Archer (right elbow) and Chris Woakes (bruised heel) are both unavailable due to injury.
Archer continues to progress following elbow surgery but is not ready at this point to return to Test cricket. Woakes suffered a bruised heel last week and is expected to be available later in the series.
England Test Squad: Joe Root (Yorkshire, Captain), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Dom Bess (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Rory Burns (Surrey), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Sam Curran (Surrey), Haseeb Hameed (Nottinghamshire), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Dom Sibley (Warwickshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Mark Wood (Durham).