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Jofra Archer Ben Stokes Back As England Name A Full Strength Squad For First Two Tests Vs India

Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes back as England name a full strength squad for first two Tests vs India

The England National Selectors announced a 22 member squad for the first two Tests against India. While the main squad comprises 16 players, six extra players have been named as reserves and injury replacements, considering that covid-19 is still at bay and it wouldn’t be easy to get in players to enter the team bubble in between any series.

Joe Root will lead the side in the first two Tests at Chennai, while Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer will also be back for a Test series for the first time since the Pakistan series at home last summer. Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, and Mark Wood have been rested for the first two Tests as per the consistent policy of the ECB of rotating similarly skilled players to keep them fresh.

The England team is currently in Sri Lanka competing in the two-match Test series, the first match of which has been won by the guests by seven wickets.

The four-match series versus India would be a crucial one from the perspective of the World Test Championship and if England also wins their second Test against Sri Lanka, they will come in contention for a place in the WTC Finals to be held at Lord’s in June.

The Indian squad, after a record-breaking Australia victory, would be the toughest challenge that England ever faced in the WTC so far.

England squad

Joe Root (Yorkshire) (captain), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Dom Bess (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Rory Burns (Surrey), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Dom Sibley (Warwickshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Olly Stone (Warwickshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)

Schedule

Friday 5-9 February: 1st Test – India v England, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Saturday 13-17 February: 2nd Test – India v England, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

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Siraj thanks Bumrah for brotherly support; reveals favorite scalp from Aus series

One among the many great stories for Team India this Australian summer, Mohammed Siraj has thanked another Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah for guiding him throughout his debut series. The Hyderabad born said that Bumrah was the senior-most bowler in the team after injuries to Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav, and he was always up with advice or two whenever the 26-year-old needed. “Our main bowler was Bumrah Bhai and he sussed to support me from the other end in both the matches that we played together. Ball to Ball, he would tell me not to try too many things and try and hit the same spot,’ Siraj told the media in a press conference. Recounting one incident from the fourth Test where Bumrah was not playing and still helped Siraj, he said, “One of my spell had gone bad in the fourth Test, Bumrah Bhai saw me tensed and said, “Jyada soch mat re, jo kharab ho gaya wo gaya, ab agle spell ke baare me dekh (Don’t repent much about the last spell, it’s over now, focus on the next one).” Siraj, who had lost his father just at the start of the tour chose to stay out in Australia and played the Test series, bagging 13 wickets in three matches. Today, he paid tributes to his father and dedicated all his wickets to him as well. Siraj also told the media that Marnus Labuschagne’s wicket in the third innings of the Gabba Test was his favorite wicket where he got both Labuschagne and Matthew Wade in the same over and changed the context of the game.

IND vs ENG: Joe Root optimistic of England's chances with return of Stokes and Archer

The return of talismanic all-rounder Ben Stokes and arguably the most feared fast bowler currently in the circuit Jofra Archer, will be a major boost for England in India tour, feels skipper Joe Root. Stokes and Archer aren’t part of England’s squad for the ongoing Test series in Sri Lanka as the team management decided to rotate players accordingly in order to give them sufficient rest during the COVID-19 pandemic. England are currently 1-0 ahead in the two-match series against Sri Lanka. The conclusion of the series will see England travelling to India for a long tour comprising of 4 Tests, 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is. Joe Root who scored a magnificent 228 in the opening Test against the islanders is optimistic of England’s chances in the Test series against India despite their historic series win Down Under. "I expect India to be full of confidence and in their own conditions, they are a very good team. They play some very good cricket," Root told reporters from Galle. "We have to be at our absolute best. But that's an exciting prospect for us, a great opportunity for us, it's a great way to aid our development as a side. "And we will be going there fully expecting to try and win that series. But we have got a lot of hard work to do before we get there. We got a big Test match here." Root played a stellar knock in the opening Test and was instrumental in leading his team to a comprehensive win. They are already shuffling with their pace battery but the return of Stokes and Archer who are two pivotal members of the England squad excites Root. England is slated to announce their squad for the Test series against India on Thursday. "You speak to any side in the world, those two guys coming back into it would give the squad a huge boost and it's certainly the case for us," said Root. "We (will be) excited to see them back in and around the squad. Hopefully, they are full of energy and ready to go when they get here." Root feels that it is very important for the players to get adequate rest in the current bio-bubble life. Meanwhile, India is also slated to host the upcoming T20 World Cup later this year which makes this year a very hectic one. "It's a huge year of Test cricket and also a World Cup, a lot of one-day cricket alongside. We're going to have to look after players," said Root. "It's crucial we've got guys who are fit and raring to go, physically and mentally, for everything that's going to be thrown at us in the next 12 months," Root concluded.

Siraj thanks Kohli, says RCB backing helped regain his confidence

Indian speedster and one of those players who did well for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2020, Mohammed Siraj has thanked the team management and skipper Virat Kohli for standing by him and helping him regain confidence after a tattered last season. In an interaction with the media after a successful Australia tour with the Indian Test team, Siraj was asked if he rates himself as a better Red ball bowler, he replied, “At the time of my white-ball debut, I took a lot of pressure and wasn’t really able to deal with it.” Further, the 26-year-old thanked Indian skipper Kohli and RCB, saying, “I used to get nervous. But the amount of backing I got from RCB and the trust that Virat Bhai showed after a dismal season in 2018, it really helped me gain my confidence back. They also retained me which was a booster for me personally.” Talking especially about Kohli, he said, “Virat bhai always tells me, “Tu kar sakta hai, tujhme wo baat hai (You can do it, you have it in you to achieve greater things)”, and that really helped me. This year I just remembered his words and worked on my skills so I am very grateful to him for his support.” In the last year's IPL, Siraj was on fire especially in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders when he picked up 3/8 in his impressive spell. In total he took 11 wickets in nine games with an economy rate of 8.68, which has been his lowest in the four seasons that he has played so far in the competition. RCB have named Siraj among the 12 retainers for this season as well, rewarding him for a great last season.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz becomes first Afghanistan batsman to hit century on ODI debut

Rahmanullah Gurbaz registered his name in the history book of Afghanistan cricket by becoming the first batsman to hit a century on his ODI debut. The wicketkeeper-batsman was opening the innings for his country and started his ODI career with a big six over square leg in the first match of the three-match ODI series against Ireland in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He finished on run a ball 127 filled with 8 fours and nine sixes that steered Afghanistan to a good total before Rashid Khan took the game to the Irish camp and led the team to a formidable total of 287 in 50 overs. He also rose to two more records on his way to a superlative century as he beat India’s Navjot Singh Sidhu for hitting a maximum number of sixes on his ODI debut. He also came second to only Desmond Haynes for scoring the highest score by a debutant batsman who had scored 148 against Australia in Antigua in 1978.