England and India compete for the newly-named Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, as Headingley plays host to the first test of the series.
The hosts have won their last five Tests in Leeds, the most recent a victory in the Ashes two years ago.
After a clean sweep of the West Indies for Harry Brook’s white ball team through May and early June, the red ball side now takes centre stage.
In their only test of the summer so far, England beat Zimbabwe by an innings and 45 runs, with hundreds from top-three Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, and Ollie Pope leading the way at Trent Bridge.
Meanwhile, India have struggled without the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. They lost 3-0 and 3-1 in the winter series against New Zealand and Australia, respectively, and now head into their first Test of the summer on the back foot.
Where and when is England v India?
The first ball will be bowled on Friday, June 20, at 11am, with the game scheduled to run until Tuesday, June 24.
The 18,350 capacity Headingley, which is the home of Yorkshire CCC, will play host to the game.
How to watch the first Test
The first Test will be broadcast as ever on Sky Sports Cricket, which will show all five of the matches in the series. It will also be available on NOW TV.
The five-match series will be the first where the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy is up for grabs, renamed this year in honour of the joint-highest Test run scorer Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson, who is the leading Test wicket taker among fast bowlers.
The trophy was formerly named after Ifitikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, as he is the only player to have represented both nations in Test cricket.
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England team news as Jamie Overton returns
Surrey pacer Jamie Overton was named in the 14-man squad for the first time since his to-date only cap in 2022. He has a broken finger in his right hand, which he picked up in an ODI against the West Indies, and continues to be monitored.
The 31-year-old played against New Zealand at Headingley in his only Test appearance of his career. He picked up two wickets and hit a destructive knock of 97 that almost led to a dream debut, but has been absent from the competitive bowling unit ever since.
His county teammate Gus Atkinson has been ruled out after sustaining a hamstring injury in the sole Test against Zimbabwe.
Jofra Archer is set for a return in the second Test at Edgbaston, as he builds back up to full fitness ahead of the winter trip to Australia, but will miss this one.
Durham seamer Brandon Carse, and Warwickshire pair Chris Woakes and Jacob Bethell, return to the Test line-up. Also in the line-up are skipper Ben Stokes (Durham), Shoaib Bashir (Somerset), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Sam Cook (Essex), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jamie Smith (Surrey), and Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire).
India return to England without big stars
As for the tourists, captain Shubman Gill, vice-captain and stumper Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, and Kuldeep Yadav make the trip.
Head coach Gautam Ghambir has rejoined the squad after returning to his home country to see his hospitalised mother.
Former captain Kohil and powerful opener Sharma remain key losses after their Test retirements, with the squad looking less impressive than their last visit to England.
Can Ben Stokes’ team start the series with a win?
The hosts come into the game, and series, as favourites. India’s recent retirements have dimmed the spark of the now fourth-ranked international team side, while world number two’s England will surely have heaps of confidence heading into the clash.
They dominated the travelling Zimbabwe outfit before a switch to the white ball game saw success for Harry Brook’s men.
England are expected to win at Headingley, with their recent record in the White Rose county and hot form key indicators that they should have too much for a struggling India.
