New Delhi, India

England are set to tour India early next year for five Tests. On Monday (Dec 11), the England Cricket Board (ECB) announced a 16-member England squad featuring three uncapped players. Surrey speedster Gus Atkinson and off-spinners Tom Hartley (Lancashire) and Shoaib Bashir (Somerset) are part of the squad with England focusing on their spin department in their subcontinental tour. Meanwhile, it also sees the return of Rehan Ahmed who made his debut in the format during England's tour of Pakistan last December. 

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Talking about some other big points, Chris Woakes and Liam Dawson have been excluded, wicketkeeper-batter Ben Foakes has been recalled whereas Ollie Pope and Jack Leach mark their return. Woakes' exclusion is a big surprise as he ended as the Player-of-the-Series in the Ashes 2023 edition, at home, after being a late addition. However, it seems England have focussed more on strengthening their spin department and, hence, have gone ahead with James Anderson, Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood to spearhead the pace attack.

Also read: Aus vs Pak: Former captain Steve Smith opens up on retirement speculation ahead of Perth Test

England last toured India for a Test series in early 2021, when Joe Root-led England lost the four-match series 3-1. It will be interesting to how they compete this time around. Moreover, all eyes are on how the much-talked-about Bazball works in India, against the likes of R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, etc. 

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England squad for India tour 2024

Ben Stokes (captain)

Rehan Ahmed

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James Anderson

Gus Atkinson 

Jonny Bairstow

Shoaib Bashir

Harry Brook 

Zak Crawley

Ben Duckett 

Ben Foakes

Tom Hartley 

Jack Leach 

Ollie Pope

Ollie Robinson 

Joe Root

Mark Wood

India vs England Tests in 2024

1st Test: India vs England, Jan 25-29, Hyderabad

2nd Test: India vs England, Feb 2-6, Vizag

3rd Test: India vs England, Feb 15-19, Rajkot

4th Test: India vs England, Feb 23-27, Ranchi

5th Test: India vs England, Mar 7-11, Dharamsala