Jamie Overton has been recalled to England’s Test squad for the series opener against India at Headingley, stepping in after Surrey teammate Gus Atkinson was sidelined by a hamstring injury. Jacob Bethell rejoins the squad, creating a selection conundrum at the top of the order, while Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse also return after missing the Zimbabwe Tests.
Overton, whose Test debut came at Headingley in 2022 against New Zealand, made a notable 97 and claimed a wicket in each innings. Despite fracturing his little finger in a recent ODI against the West Indies and playing only three County Championship matches since last season due to injuries and IPL commitments, Overton has been picked over Matthew Potts as seam-bowling back-up.
Initially, England were hopeful Atkinson would recover for the first Test, but that wasn’t the case, thinning their seam-bowling resources. Mark Wood and Olly Stone are unavailable due to knee issues, and Jofra Archer will not be ready until at least the second Test because of a thumb injury.
Jacob Bethell, who missed the Zimbabwe Test while participating in the IPL, is back and puts pressure on the batting order. His strong debut series in New Zealand, with three half-centuries at No. 3, challenges Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope, although both batsmen struck hundreds against Zimbabwe.
Sam Cook remains after his debut versus Zimbabwe but is likely to start as back-up, with Woakes returning from an ankle injury. Josh Tongue, who lost the 2024 season to injury, joins the squad and will play for England Lions against India A alongside Woakes for preparation.
England’s squad has seen changes since their 4-1 series defeat in India 18 months ago. James Anderson retired post-tour, and Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes, and Ollie Robinson are not in the current line-up. India’s squad also features changes, with Shubman Gill captaining after R Ashwin, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma retired.
The series will commence at Headingley, followed by matches at Edgbaston, Lord’s, Emirates Old Trafford, and concluding at the Kia Oval. India, yet to win a Test series in England since 2007, have already sent several players to feature for India A against the Lions, while the rest arrive in the UK on Friday.
England squad for first Test versus India: Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Ben Stokes (capt), Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.
