England Cricket is all set to host India for a five-match Test series from June 20 to August 4. The matches will be played at five key Test centers – Headingley, Edgbaston, Lord’s, Manchester and the Kennington Oval. Let’s take a look at the predicted England XI for the India’s Tour of England 2025.
Predicted England Playing XI for ENG vs IND 2025 Test Series
England’s premier all-rounder Ben Stokes will captain the hosts, when they clash against India in the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. Recently, he was announced as captain for England’s one-off Test against Zimbabwe later this month.
Notably, Stokes will play his first competitive game after recovering from injury, which he sustained against New Zealand in December.
Harry Brook and Joe Root will be key forces to reckon with for the Indian bowlers, due to their track record and consistent performances on home soil. Jamie Smith will be the first-choice wicket-keeper, while Jordan Cox/James Rew will be the back-up keeper in the squad.
Also Read: Predicted India XI and Squad for upcoming England Test series
Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley have done well for the side by employing their Bazball approach and providing terrific starts. However, a huge question looms over a player who would make way for Jacob Bethell, who performed well against New Zealand and proved his merit in IPL as well.
It will be interesting to see if Ollie Pope manages to save his place, due to his bad form. He has donned England’s captaincy hat in the absence of Stokes as well.
Matthew Potts, Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue and Sam Cook will be potent bowling options for the side. However, Potts and Atkinson are only guaranteed to find a place in the XI. Meanwhile, Shoaib Bashir is expected to be part of XI due to his success against India in the away series.
Predicted XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell/Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith, Shoaib Bashir, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Josh Tongue/Sam Cook
Predicted squad: Ben Stokes (c), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope/Jacob Bethell, Matthew Potts, James Rew/Jordan Cox, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue
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