Fit-again Stokes back for India Test series, Robinson recalled, Hameed gets nod after five years

PTI, Jul 21, 2021, 7:01 PM IST

London: Star all-rounder Ben Stokes on Wednesday returned to the 17-member England squad for the first two Tests against India, along with pacer Ollie Robinson, who was earlier suspended for his seven-year-old racist tweets.

Opener Haseeb Hameed, whose last Test was against India in 2016, was also named in the squad.

The first Test starts in Nottingham on August 4 while the second match will be played at the Lord”s from August 12-16.

Jofra Archer, recuperating from elbow surgery, and Chris Woakes, suffering from bruised heel, are still not match-fit to be included.

Pacers Mark Wood and Sam Curran are the other fast bowlers in the line-up, apart from the veteran duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

Robinson, who made his debut against New Zealand in the first Test, was suspended after his seven year old allegedly racist tweets resurfaced prompting the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to suspend him from all forms of cricket.

The seasoned keeper-batsmen Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler are back in the Joe root-led team after being rested for the Test series against New Zealand. The team also has Rory Burns, Ollie Pope, Zak Crawley, Dom Sibley and Dan Lawrence in the batting unit.

However, one of the notable comebacks is certainly that of 24-year-old Lancashire opener Hameed, who is currently playing against India in the warm-up game at Durham.

Hameed was termed as ”Baby Boycs” during his teenage years for his defensive game resembling Geoffrey Boycott”s dogged defence.

Hameed, incidentally, last played in England”s 2016 series in India and he is making a comeback after five years.

England Squad: Joe Root (captain), James Anderson, Ben Stokes, 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, Mark Wood.