Zak Crawley has been selected in England’s squad for their five-match Test series against India.
Kent batsman Crawley, 25, will aim to add to the 39 Test caps he has already won as he is included as part of England’s 16-strong squad.
The tour will begin in Hyderabad on January 25 – after Crawley’s stint with Perth Scorchers at the T20 Big Bash League in Australia.
He was involved in this month’s disappointing three-game One-Day International series against West Indies, producing his top score of the series of 48 in the opener.
England’s team to tour India includes three uncapped players at Test level in Surrey fast bowler Gus Atkinson, Tom Hartley, of Lancashire, and Somerset’s Shoaib Bashir.
Indeed, 20-year-old Bashir has only played six first-class matches, having made his debut in June. Atkinson and Hartley have both played white-ball cricket for England.
Batsman and vice-captain Ollie Pope and left-arm spinner Jack Leach return to the side after respective injuries.
Teenage Leicestershire leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed returns to the Test squad after claiming a five-wicket haul on his Test debut in Pakistan last December while all-rounder Ben Stokes leads Brendon McCullum’s side, having undergone surgery on his left knee.
England Test squad: Ben Stokes (captain, Durham), Zak Crawley (Kent), Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Gus Atkinson (Surrey), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Shoaib Bashir (Somerset), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Tom Hartley (Lancashire), Jack Leach (Somerset), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Mark Wood (Durham).
