A 20-member India squad was named for the tour of England that includes the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand and five Test matches against England. There are four standby players besides the 20 players named in the main squad, taking the total number of the touring party to 24.
India plays the WTC final against New Zealand in Southampton from June 18. That Test will be followed by five Tests against England in August-September. The first Test against England begins on August 4 and the final Test is scheduled to end on September 14.
The squad sees the return of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who missed the recent Tests in Australia and against England in India due to injury.
Batsman KL Rahul and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha have also been included, subject to fitness clearance. Pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah who missed the last Test against England in early March due to marriage has also returned. Rahul had to undergo surgery after he pulled out of the Indian Premier League due to appendicitis while Saha is down with Covid-19.
Following their 3-1 win against England at home, India finished as the No. 1 side with 72.2 percentage points and booked their place in the WTC final.
India's squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper; subject to fitness clearance).
Standby players: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla.