England announce 17-member squad for opening two Tests vs India

Haseeb Hameed has made his way into England’s 17-member squad for the first two Tests against India. Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran also made the cut alongside Ollie Robinson, who was cleared to play competitive cricket after the probe into historical tweets. Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes have been forced to miss out due to injuries.

While Archer’s exemption was foreseeable owing to his recurring elbow injury, Woakes is nursing a bruised heel and is expected to regain full fitness as the series progresses.

Hameed last represented England’s Test squad in three matches on the India tour of 2016. The young opener was dropped after a wretched run of form but has clawed back into the fold thanks to a bumper domestic season. He has scored 642 runs from nine matches in the County Championship at an average of 45.85 and has compiled two centuries and four half-centuries. Hameed was added as a cover to England’s squad for the New Zealand Tests last month.

The blockbuster five-Test series kicks off in Trent Bridge on August 4, followed by subsequent games at Lord’s, Headingley, Kennington Oval and Old Trafford.

Squad: 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.