Jofra Archer has returned to England's Test set-up after almost four and a half years amd has been included in their 15-member squad for the second Test against India which is set to be played at Edgbaston from July 2. There were no other changes to the Three Lions' squad and those who got included in the lineup for the first Test are all present for the second match as well.
Archer will massively strengthen England's bowling department
This is nothing short of a massive change and it comes after England's bowling attack had come under fire following their disappointing performance in the first Test at Headingley. The Indian batters smashed them for over 800 runs in their two innings combined and dominated for the most part. However, Archer's inclusion heavily improves their bowling contingent and he even could prove to be England's trump card in the upcoming match in Birmingham.
Notably, Archer recently featured for Sussex in their County Championship clash against Durham which commenced from June 22. The match would eventually end as a draw with Archer only getting an inning to bowl. He bowled a decent 18-over spell where he only gave away 32 runs and picked up a wicket as well.
Archer last played red-ball cricket for England back in 2021 in a clash against India which took place in Ahmedabad. The 30-year-old has so far played a total of 13 Tests in his career, picking up 42 scalps including three 5-wicket-hauls. His best figures in the format are 6/45 while his strike-rate is 62.1.
Recently, Archer featured for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025. However, both him and the franchise had a season to forget as the side finished ninth on the IPL standings, accumulating just 8 points from 14 matches. On the other hand, the pacer played 12 matches in the campaign, but was only able to pick up 11 scalps and also maintained a high economy rate of 9.47.
England squad for second India Test: Ben Stokes (C) Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.