The last time England toured India in 2020-21, they started with a 227-run victory before capitulating in the subsequent three Tests to go down 1-3 in the series.

India squad news

For the hosts, sixteen players under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy were announced to take on the visitors for the first two Tests.

Wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurelwas the only fresh face in the group. Mohammed Shami missed out on selection as he is still recovering from an ankle injury sustained during the World Cup. Rohit’s deputy, Jasprit Bumrah, will spearhead India’s fast-bowling attack with support from Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar.

In a blow for India, Virat Kohli has opted out of the first two Tests of the series citing “personal reasons“. Rajat Patidar has been named as his replacement.

After the first Test, there were a couple of injury updates. Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul were ruled out of the second Test after injuries to their hamstring and quadriceps respectively. In their absence, Sarfaraz Khan and Saurabh Kumar were called up from the India A squad.

England squad news

Meanwhile, England named a 16-member squad led by Ben Stokes with three uncapped players – fast bowler Gus Atkinson and finger-spinners Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir. However, Bashir was not available for selection for the series opener due to visa issues preventing him from entering India.

Teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed also returned to the Test fold after claiming a five-wicket haul on his debut in Pakistan last December. Star batter Harry Brook has returned home from India for personal reasons. Dan Lawrence was called up as Brook’s replacement.

While Ollie Pope and Jack Leach are also back in the Test squad after spending time on the sidelines with injuries, Ben Foakes, who hasn’t played a Test match since England toured New Zealand early in 2023, earned a recall.

":2,"2":"sa="" vs="" ind="" odis="" squad:="" full="" team="" lists="" for="" south="" africa="" v="" india="" 2023"}"="" data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":8771,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16770457},"9":1,"12":0,"16":12}"="">IND vs ENG Tests 2024 squad: Full team lists for England’s tour of India

India Test squad (first two Tests): Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli (opted out of first two Tests), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk, out of second Test), KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja (out of second Test), Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Avesh Khan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan

Rajat Patidar replaced Virat Kohli
Sarfaraz Khan and Saurabh Kumar replaced KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja

England Test squad: Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Shoaib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (wk), Dan Lawrence, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood

Dan Lawrence replaced Harry Brook
Shoaib Bashir joined the team for the second Test