England in shock! Ben Stokes’ reliable teammate ruled out of first Test against India

England speedster Gus Atkinson is likely to be ruled out of the first Test match against India, commencing on June 20 at Leeds. Atkinson is battling with a hamstring injury, which led him to pull out of the white-ball series against West Indies.

Atkinson was injured during the third innings of the England vs Zimbabwe one-off Test last month and bowled just three overs in Zimbabwe’s second innings.

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Gus Atkinson injury

The English pacer has been hoping to be fit for the Test series against India, but he is struggling to regain fitness, and now, according to the reports, Atkinson’s return might be delayed.

Atkinson has been a key member of the England bowling department in recent times as he has scalped 55 wickets in just 12 Test matches at an average of 22.3, which includes three fifers in his short Test career. This is the most wickets by any England bowler during this period.

The England team wants their pacer to be fully fit before the five-Test match series. Sam Cook, Matthew Potts, and Josh Tongue will be the potential replacements for Atkinson in the Test series against India.

Injury scare in England’s camp

Other than Atkinson, Mark Wood, Olly Stone, and Jofra Archer are currently battling injuries. Archer was named in the white-ball series against West Indies but pulled out just before the series due to a thumb injury, and then Luke Wood replaced him in the squad.

Mark Wood is currently working with the ECB medical team for his recovery. The speedster will miss the English summer and targets to return at the end of July, which means Wood will almost miss the whole Test series against India.

England have struggled to set up a strong pace attack in Test cricket after the retirements of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who served England cricket for a long time in the red-ball format.

England Lions squad update

India A will play the second unofficial Test match against England Lions on June 6. Veteran Chris Woakes is likely to make his return to the Lions side to give him a practice game ahead of the big Test series against India.

Earlier, English Test skipper Ben Stokes was also considered to be included in the England Lions squads, but now Stokes is unlikely to join the squad as England will announce the team against India within the next week.

India and England, both teams, will kickstart their new cycle of the World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle with the five-Test match series between them.