ENG vs IND 2025: Jofra Archer makes Test comeback as England name Playing XI for Lord’s clash

ENG vs IND 2025: Jofra Archer makes Test comeback as England name Playing XI for Lord’s clash. (Photo source: ECB)

England have named their Playing XI, a day prior to the third Test against India. The game will be start on July 10 at the historic Lord’s in London. Ace pacer Josh Tongue, who looked impressive in the couple of games he played so far, has been replaced by speedster Jofra Archer. This will be Archer’s first Test match after more than four years. He last played in white for England at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad against the same opposition, then led by Virat Kohli.

There were talks of England also bringing in the likes of Gus Atkinson for the upcoming encounter, but they have retained the services of Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes to make a formidable combination ahead of the upcoming encounter, where they have the chance to take a lead in the series, which is currently levelled at 1-1, after India won the Edgbaston encounter by a huge margin on the final day of the game.

Player of the Match from the series opener, Ben Duckett, will be opening alongside his usual partner Zak Crawley, with Ollie Pope expected to bat at No. 3. The middle order will consist of an experienced Joe Root alongside a young but in-form Harry Brook, followed by skipper Ben Stokes and Jamie Smith. The wicketkeeper-batter Smith has been making some crucial runs at his batting position, and has almost cemented his spot in the side on the back of a few useful knocks.

The pace battery will be handled by the troika of Archer, Carse, and Woakes, whereas Shoaib Bashir will once again play as specialist spinner. Bashir has gone for plenty of runs in the last couple of games, but the conditions are expected to offer him more assistance than at the previous venues, which builds some promise for him ahead of the important contest. His match-up with Rishabh Pant will be the one to watch out for at Lord’s.

England XI for 3rd Test vs India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir

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