Captain Stokes brings proven Test form vs India into home series

England are all geared up to face India in a five-match Test series, with Ben Stokes leading the home side.

So far, Stokes has featured in 111 Test matches for England. Ahead of the India series, the left-hander boasts an excellent record against the visitors. In 21 matches against India, the 34-year-old has accumulated 972 runs, including one century and five half-centuries.

In home conditions, Stokes has played 49 Tests, scoring 3,036 runs with eight centuries and 18 half-centuries to his name.

Ahead of the series, Stokes will be supported by the in-form Joe Root. England, however, will take on a Virat Kohli-less Indian side, as the Indian stalwart announced his retirement from Test cricket just a month before the series.

Speaking on Kohli’s retirement, Stokes said: “I did text him, saying it`s going to be a shame not to play against him because I love playing against Virat. We both love playing against each other because we have that same mindset when we are out in the field, that it`s a battle.”

Kohli ended his Test career as India’s fourth-highest run-scorer, with 9,230 runs in 123 matches. He signed off with 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries in the format.

Entering the series, one of the major concerns for India will be the feature of Jasprit Bumrah. The pacer has been advised not to play consecutive Test matches due to his workload management.

The five-match Test series will be played from June 20 to August 4, with fixtures scheduled at Headingley (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Lord’s and The Oval (London), and Old Trafford (Manchester).

Ind vs Eng Test series: Squads

India squad: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana

England: 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)

(With PTI inputs)

This article first appeared on Mid Day