England vs India: Jofra Archer Set for Test Return After 4 Years, Named in Squad for 2nd Test

Jofra Archer is set to make his return to the England Test squad after a 4-year absence ahead of the Birmingham Test.

Archer was teased for a return to the national setup after featuring for Sussex in county cricket following his long injury layoff, and now he’s back in the squad for the 2nd Test. With 13 Test caps, Archer hasn’t played in the format since the England tour of India in 2021. A persistent elbow injury had sidelined him from red-ball cricket, restricting his appearances to limited-overs formats.

Archer Returns as England Prepares to Rotate Pace Attack

His recent first-class outing for Sussex was a decent comeback he returned figures of 1/32 in 18 overs during a drawn match against Durham. Speaking about his return and adapting to the longer format, Archer said:

"Now it's a different challenge, because I know my body can hold up to it. The mental part of the game will be tough. Over the next couple of days, I'm going to have to battle a bit with it, but it's all good. It's a new challenge, and I'll keep trucking along."

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The second Test between England and India begins on July 2, followed by the third Test at Lord’s, scheduled back-to-back. England are expected to rotate their pace attack to manage workloads. Jamie Overton and Sam Cook, who missed the first Test, are likely to feature in the second. Josh Tongue, England’s standout bowler with 7/158 in the opening match, is expected to retain his place. Meanwhile, Chris Woakes, who led the pace attack but struggled in the first Test, is rumoured to be sidelined for the second.

England won the first Test convincingly, is expected to boast the same batting line-up, with some changes in the bowling line-up. India, on the other hand, is expected to tweak their batting line-up, and Arshdeep Singh is expected to play in the 2nd Test ahead of Jasprit Bumrah as he was rumoured to miss the 2nd test. Stay tuned for more updates on the India tour of England 2025.

England Men's Test squad for the 2nd Test

Ben Stokes (capt), Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes

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