Among the new faces are Surrey’s fast bowler Gus Atkinson, along with spinners Tom Hartley from Lancashire and Shoaib Bashir from Somerset.
Atkinson played a pivotal role in Surrey’s retention of the County Championship title this year, securing 20 wickets in five matches with an average of 20.20. He was also part of England’s squad in the recent ODI World Cup held in India.
Hartley and Bashir gained valuable experience by training with the England Lions squad during November in the United Arab Emirates.
Returning to the squad is 19-year-old leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, who made headlines in December 2022 with a five-wicket haul against Pakistan, becoming England’s youngest-ever Test debutant.
Leading the squad will be Ben Stokes, who recently declared his unavailability for the next year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) to better manage his workload and ensure peak fitness.
The series begins in Hyderabad on January 25.
England squad:
Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood.
Test series:
1st Test: India v England, 25-29 January, Hyderabad
2nd Test: India v England, 2-6 February, Vizag
3rd Test: India v England, 15-19 February, Rajkot
4th Test: India v England, 23-27 February, Ranchi
5th Test: India v England, 7-11 March, Dharamsala
(With Reuters inputs)
