Gus Atkinson ruled out of first India Test as Jamie Overton and Jacob Bethell return to England squad

Overton played his sole Test so far in the summer of 2022 while Bethell’s availability leaves England with a selection headache

Thursday 05 June 2025 13:29 BST

Stokes backs Pope despite calls for him to be dropped

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England seamer Gus Atkinson has been ruled out of the first Test against India, with Jamie Overton, Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse all bolstering the pace ranks.

Atkinson suffered a hamstring injury in the one-off encounter with Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge in late May and faces a spell on the sidelines, leading to a recall for Surrey all-rounder Overton, who played his only Test against New Zealand in June 2022.

The 31-year-old is also something of a fitness doubt after breaking a finger in the white-ball series against the West Indies, with England suggesting he will be assessed daily ahead of the start of the India Test at Headingley.

A fit-again Carse has impressed in those shorter-format games after a breakthrough winter with the Test team, while the experienced Woakes is expected to feature for the England Lions against India A at Northampton on Friday as he builds up his workloads. Fellow seamers Josh Tongue and Sam Cook also retain their places in a 14-man squad.

Jacob Bethell’s return gives England a selection decision to make in their top order (Getty)

The return of Jacob Bethell, who missed the Zimbabwe match due to the Indian Premier League (IPL), poses a top-order headache for head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes. The left-hander made an assured start to life in Tests having been promoted to No 3 in New Zealand but incumbents Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope all made hundreds, with the trio thought likely to retain their places.

The Headingley encounter begins on 20 June and is the first of five in an eagerly-anticipated series. India will begin life under a new captain with Shubman Gill appointed skipper after Rohit Sharma’s retirement, while Virat Kohli has also stepped away from the red-ball game.

England squad for first Test against India at Headingley (20-24 June)

Ben Stokes (Durham) – Captain

Shoaib Bashir (Somerset)

Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire)

Harry Brook (Yorkshire)

Brydon Carse (Durham)

Sam Cook (Essex)

Zak Crawley (Kent)

Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)

Jamie Overton (Surrey)

Ollie Pope (Surrey)

Joe Root (Yorkshire)

Jamie Smith (Surrey)

Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire)

Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)

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Gus Atkinson ruled out of first India Test as Jamie Overton and Jacob Bethell return to England squad

Overton played his sole Test so far in the summer of 2022 while Bethell’s availability leaves England with a selection headache

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