Jofra Archer Misses Out As England Announce Playing XI For 2nd Test Against India; Check Whos IN, Whos OUT-OxBig News Network

England on Monday announced their playing XI for the second Test against India, which is set to be played at Edgbaston from Wednesday.

Ben Stokes-led England, who lead the five-match series 1-0 after chasing down 371 in the fourth innings to win the first Test, didn’t make any change in their playing XI for the second Test.

Notably, Archer had made a return to the England Test set-up for the first time since February 2021 after being named in the squad for the second Test against India. However, the team management decided to stick to the winning combination for the second match, meaning a further wait for the return of Archer.

Archer last played red-ball cricket for England in 2021 and has since been sidelined by a series of injuries that kept him out of action for a prolonged period.

The 30-year-old pacer missed Monday’s training session because of a family emergency. He will rejoin the team in Birmingham on Tuesday, ahead of the start of the second Test.

“England men’s fast bowler Jofra Archer will not be joining the England Test squad for today’s training session at Edgbaston on Monday (June 30), due to a family emergency. He is expected to rejoin the squad tomorrow, Tuesday, ahead of the Rothesay second Test at Edgbaston, which begins on Wednesday against India,” the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement on Monday.

Archer has played 13 Tests for England and picked 42 wickets at an average of 31.04 so far. Apart from Archer, the likes of Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Sam Cook, and Jamie Overton are the other fast bowling options in England squad for the second Test in Edgbaston.

Meanwhile, England have also got former England all-rounder Moeen Ali in a coaching consultancy role with the team for the Edgbaston Test.

England Playing XI For 2nd Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.