The England Men’s selection panel have named a 16-player squad for the five-Test series against India which starts next month, with Ben Stokes and Mark Wood named from Durham.
The squad includes three uncapped players at Test level with Surrey quick Gus Atkinson joined by spinners Tom Hartley (Lancashire) and Shoaib Bashir (Somerset).
Atkinson claimed 20 wickets in five County Championship matches last summer at an average of 20.20 as Surrey claimed back-to-back titles.
Hartley and Bashir were both part of the England Lions squad that trained in the United Arab Emirates last month. They were joined in the UAE by vice-captain Ollie Pope and Jack Leach to step up their preparations as they return to Test duty following injury.
Leicestershire’s teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed returns to the Test squad after claiming a five-wicket haul on his Test debut in Pakistan last December.
England Men’s squad for tour of India:
Ben Stokes (Durham – captain), Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Gus Atkinson (Surrey). Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Shoaib Bashir (Somerset), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Tom Hartley (Lancashire), Jack Leach (Somerset), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Ollie Robinson (Sussex) Joe Root (Yorkshire), Mark Wood (Durham)
Schedule:
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