ENG vs IND 2025, 1st Test: England announce playing XI, Chris Woakes returns

England have announced their playing XI for the first Test against India at Headingley, starting on Friday, June 20. The all-rounder Chris Woakes returns to red-ball cricket for the first time since December, while Durham seamer Brydon Carse is set to play his first Test on home soil. Carse has previously featured in five Tests for the Three Lions, all away from home, in Pakistan and New Zealand. Ben Stokes will be leading a formidable line-up.

The hosts have retained their regular openers, Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, to continue their attacking approach under the 'Bazball' philosophy. Ollie Pope will come in at No. 3, followed by Joe Root at No. 4. Harry Brook slots in at No. 5, while Jacob Bethell misses out on selection for the opening Test.

Stokes & Co. will go into the match with a three-pace attack comprising Woakes, Carse, and Josh Tongue with skipper Stokes acting as the genuine fourth option. Shoaib Bashir will be the lone spinner tasked with handling India’s batting line-up. England’s bowling attack appears slightly underpowered, and the skipper will look to lead from the front in the contest.

England playing XI for the first Test against India:

⁠Zak Crawley, ⁠Ben Duckett, ⁠Ollie Pope, ⁠Joe Root, ⁠Harry Brook, ⁠Ben Stokes (C), ⁠Jamie Smith (WK), ⁠Chris Woakes, ⁠Brydon Carse, ⁠Josh Tongue, ⁠Shoaib Bashir

Meanwhile, at the pre-match press conference in Leeds, India’s vice-captain Rishabh Pant confirmed that Shubman Gill will bat at No. 4 in red-ball cricket moving forward. Gill takes over the position long held by Virat Kohli. Pant himself will continue at No. 5 in the Indian batting order.

India squad for first Test vs England: Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, B Sai Sudharsan, Karun Nair, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Mohammed Siraj