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England’s team will not be able to get the service of their star all-rounder Ben Stokes in the five-match Test series against India. Ben recently made a comeback to international cricket and has taken a break to recover from his mental problem and finger condition. In April this year, in the first part of IPL 2021, he had broken his finger in the very first match he played for his team Rajasthan Royals. Stokes played domestic cricket and played two matches for The Hundred before returning to international cricket. He looked ready to play Test cricket after four months but now he will spend some time away from the game.
Ben Stokes’ exit from the Test squad is a big setback for the hosts and will now rely on Chris Woakes to play the role of Stokes. On the other hand, England have decided to include fast bowler Craig Overton in the team in place of Ben Stokes. The 27-year-old Devon fast bowler has played four Test matches and as many ODIs for England so far. He made his Test debut against Australia in the Ashes 2017/18, while his first ODI was played the following year. He has taken 9 wickets in Test cricket while in ODIs he has 4 wickets to his name. Overton has the experience of playing 102 first-class matches and has 359 wickets to his name in red ball cricket. He has scored 2871 runs in domestic cricket at an average of 22.08 and also scored a century. His twin brother, Jamie has also been a part of the national team but he remains uncapped.
Barring Ben Stokes, the rest are fit and available for selection. Joe Root will lead the home team, which includes Jack Crawley, Sam Curran, Jonny Bairstow, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, James Anderson, Sturt Broad to name a few. The five-match Test series will begin in Nottingham from August 4. The next four Tests will be played at Lord’s, Leeds, London and Manchester from 12 August, 25 August, 2 September and 10 September respectively.
