Bethell back in England squad for first India Test but injured Atkinson misses out

Jacob Bethell is back in the England Test squad for the series opener against India but fast bowler Gus Atkinson is out with a hamstring injury.

Bethell missed the innings victory over Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge last month while on IPL duty but returns to a 14-man group for the fixture at Headingley from June 20-24, after impressing in New Zealand over the winter by scoring three fifties from the No 3 spot.

If the 21-year-old plays in Leeds later this month – live on Sky Sports – he would presumably have to replace one of opener Zak Crawley or incumbent No 3 Ollie Pope, although Crawley and Pope both scored centuries against Zimbabwe, making 124 and 171 respectively.

England captain Ben Stokes had appeared to intimate Bethell – who is yet to score a professional hundred – would return to the XI against India while speaking ahead of the Zimbabwe Test but later confirmed he meant the wider squad and suggested his words had been “twisted” by the media.

Carse and Woakes back in squad after injuries

With Surrey quick Atkinson sidelined by the issue he sustained in this summer’s opening Test, fit-again pacers Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes, as well as seam-bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton, return.

Sam Cook and Josh Tongue – both of whom played against Zimbabwe, with Cook making his debut – retain their spots but Matthew Potts, the spare pace bowler in the squad for that thumping win at Trent Bridge in May, misses out entirely.

Carse (toe) and Woakes (ankle) have recently made comebacks from injury, with Carse now back involved with England’s white-ball squads and Woakes in line to play a red-ball game for the Lions against India A from June 6.

Like Bethell – who earned his Test chance in New Zealand with Jamie Smith on paternity leave at the time – Carse and Woakes could return to the Test XI for the first time since the 2-1 series victory over the Black Caps at the back end of 2024.

Carse was England’s leading wicket-taker in that series, picking up 18 across the three matches, and has 27 scalps from five Tests in total after claiming nine in two games on the tour of Pakistan last October.

Overton could make first Test appearance in three years

Surrey’s Overton could play his first Test since debuting against New Zealand at Headingley in June 2022, when he scored 97 from the No 8 spot and took two wickets.

The 31-year-old is out of action with a broken little finger picked up in an ODI against West Indies, which subsequently ruled him out of the T20I series against the same side, and is being assessed daily by England’s medical team.

England remain without Jofra Archer (thumb), Mark Wood (knee) and Olly Stone (knee).

Shoaib Bashir – who took nine wickets in the match against Zimbabwe, including a second-innings six-for – is the sole frontline spinner in the group.

After the Headingley Test, England will play India at Edgbaston (July 2-6), Lord’s (July 10-14), Emirates Old Trafford (July 23-27) and The Kia Oval (July 31-August 4), with every game live on Sky Sports.