England rest Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer for Sri Lanka Tests

England has announced their squad for the upcoming Test series in Sri Lanka. While England has named a strong squad for the tour, they have rested their star duo Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer in an attempt to minimize the bubble time for the all-rounders. The visitors have also recalled wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow to the squad.

Stokes, whose father Ged recently passed away after a battle with brain cancer, and Archer are expected to join the England squad in India for the four-match Test series, starting in February. Along with Stokes and Archer, opening batsman Rory Burns will also miss the Tests in Sri Lanka in order to be with his wife as the couple is expecting their first child.

Ollie Pope has also missed out due to a shoulder injury. However, Pope will travel to Sri Lanka where he’ll continue his rehabilitation with a view to getting ready for the series in India. The absence of Pope and Burns has seen Bairstow earning the surprise recall. The right-handed batsman has not played a Test since December 2019.

He was dropped from the squad after a string of poor performances in the longest format of the game. Bairstow averaged only 18.55 in 10 Tests in 2019 and passed fifty just twice. England has also included uncapped Essex batsman Dan Lawrence in their squad. In another

Back-up wicketkeeper and bowling lineup

Ben Foakes has been named in England’s squad as a back-up wicketkeeper. Foakes was a part of the England squad that had whitewashed Sri Lanka in their own backyard in 2018. He had famously hit a century on debut at Galle as England clean swept the three-match series. However, he has not played a game since the Antigua Test in 2019.

In the bowling department, veteran pacers James Anderson and Stuart Broad will lead the pace attack. The likes of Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, and Olly Stone are in the squad too. Dom Bess, Jack Leach and Moeen Ali will form the spin attack. Moeen and Leach had claimed 36 wickets between them during the last tour of Sri Lanka. England have also named seven players as reserve for the series.

The two-match series will be played behind closed doors at Galle. The first Test will start on January 14 while the second gets underway on January 22. Joe Root & Co. will leave for Sri Lanka on January 2 and will train at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium between January 5-9.

Squad:

Joe Root(c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

Reserves:

James Bracey, Mason Crane, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Amar Virdi.