Revealed: Here's Why Jofra Archer And Chris Woakes Aren't Included In England's Squad For First Two Tests Against India

While England welcomed back the likes of Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Sam Curran, and Jonny Bairstow in the 17-man squad to face India in Tests, two notable names went missing. The selectors did not name Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer as they continue to recover from their injuries. The five-match Test series begin on the 4th of August in Nottingham.

Jofra Archer had to undergo elbow surgery as the injury resurfaced during the India tour, leading him to miss the ODI series and IPL 2021. Nevertheless, it seems like Archer’s surgery and recovery process has gone smoothly as he returned for Sussex in the ongoing T20 Blast and could come in contention at a later stage. The same case applies with Chris Woakes, who would be integral to England’s chances against India.

Chris Woakes, who last played a Test in August 2020 against Pakistan, has sustained a broken heel. Nevertheless, the hosts gladly welcomed back Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, and Sam Curran in the 17-member squad. All three cricketers did not feature in the two-match series against New Zealand. But Buttler, Stokes, and Curran have played white-ball cricket against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Below is England’s 17-man squad for the first two Tests to face India:

Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Mark Wood.

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