IND vs ENG 2025: England name playing XI for Manchester Test, make one change

England named its playing XI for the fourth Test against India at Old Trafford in Manchester starting Wednesday (Jul 23). The hosts have made just one change to their side that won the previous game at the Lord’s by 22 runs. Despite a lacklustre show from its top order in the past two matches, England backed the under-fire pair of Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, with Ollie Pope retaining his number three spot. While rookie all-rounder Jacob Bethell continues to wait for his turn, England has recalled left-arm orthodox Liam Dawson in place of injured Shoaib Bashir for the fourth Test.
Dawson returns to the Test side for the first time in eight years, having last featured against South Africa in a Test in 2017. Bashir’s absence will see Dawson earn his fourth Test cap.

Here is England’s playing XI for Manchester Test –

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Liam Dawson, Brydon Carse and Jofra Archer

Bashir, who bowled with a broken left pinky finger at Lord’s, even picking the last Indian wicket to win the tight game for the hosts, has undergone an operation, with a wire inserted to ensure it heals properly. His replacement, Dawson, comes into the side on the back of a hefty wicket tally to his name in first-class cricket, bagging 371 wickets in domestic cricket. Since 2021, Dawson has picked up 12 of his 15 five-fors, also including three ten-wicket hauls; he has scored nine hundreds during that period.

"He's a wily, old fox," Brook said of Dawson at the pre-game presser. "He's very experienced and a very skilful cricketer. He's played everywhere, played against everyone, so hopefully, he can have an amazing performance this week.

"As we've seen over the Test series, the footholes have been for the left-handed batters outside off, so hopefully he can land it in the footholes and create a bit of spice and some opportunities to take wickets.

"He's willing to always fight for the team, he's very competitive, and it's good to have him here,” Brook continued.

Meanwhile, India is yet to announce its playing XI for the Manchester Test. Considering they have lost two players (Arshdeep Singh and Nitish Kumar Reddy) to injuries, while the management is observing two others - Rishabh Pant and Akash Deep, the visiting camp has plenty to ponder upon before picking their best XI.