The
India cricket team
The India men's national cricket team, also known as Team India or the Men in Blue, represents India in men's international cricket. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and is a Full Member of the International ...
toured England in August and September 2021 to play five
Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to:
* Test cricket
* Test match (indoor cricket)
* Test match (rugby union)
* Test match (rugby league)
* Test match (association football)
...
. Prior to their matches against England, India played
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
in the
2021 ICC World Test Championship Final
The final of the 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship, the inaugural ICC World Test Championship, was played from 18 to 23 June 2021 at the Rose Bowl, Southampton, England, between India and New Zealand. It was initially scheduled for five da ...
at the
Rose Bowl in
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
in June 2021. The Test series were the first matches of the
2021–2023 ICC World Test Championship.
In May 2021, the
Board of Control for Cricket in India
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at Cricket centre, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BCCI is the richest governing body of cricket in the world ...
(BCCI) made a request to the
England and Wales Cricket Board
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the Sports governing body, national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test and ...
(ECB) to adjust the schedule of the tour to accommodate the remaining matches of the
2021 Indian Premier League
The 2021 Indian Premier League, also known as IPL 14, or for sponsorship reasons, Vivo IPL 2021, was the fourteenth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), a professional Twenty20 cricket league established by the Board of Control for Cric ...
. However, a change would impact on tickets that have already been sold and the need to reschedule matches in
The Hundred. On the second day of the third Test, England players wore
black armbands in remembrance of former England cricketer
Ted Dexter
Edward Ralph Dexter, (15 May 1935 – 25 August 2021) was an England international cricketer.
An aggressive middle-order batsman of ferocious power and a right-arm medium bowler, he captained Sussex and England in the early 1960s. He captaine ...
, who died on 25 August 2021. Likewise, on the first day of the fourth Test, Indian players wore black armbands in remembrance of former Indian cricketer
Vasoo Paranjape, who died on 30 August 2021.
The first Test of the series ended in a draw, after more than two days of play was lost across the duration of the match to rain. India won the second Test by 151 runs, in the final hour of the fifth day, to take a 1–0 lead in the series. England won the third Test by an innings and 76 runs before the lunch break on day four, levelling the series 1–1. It was Joe Root's 27th win as captain, the most by a
captain of England in Test cricket. India won the fourth Test by 157 runs, to lead the series 2–1 with one match to play.
On the morning of the scheduled start of the fifth Test of the series, both cricket boards confirmed that the match would not start on 10 September 2021, following positive
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
results in the Indian team. The ECB then issued a statement to say that the Test match had been cancelled, as India were unable to field a side. Clarification on the result of the series was sent to the
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...
(ICC), and the match referee
Chris Broad. The BCCI issued a statement saying that they were working with the ECB with the aim to reschedule the match. In September 2021, the ECB announced that India would play a one-off Test match in 2022, ahead of India's
limited-overs matches against England. The following month, the ECB confirmed that the rescheduled match would determine the outcome of the Test series.
After being set a target of 378 runs, England won the fifth Test by seven wickets to record their
highest successful run chase in a Test match, with the five-match series being drawn 2–2.
Squads
India also named
Abhimanyu Easwaran
Abhimanyu Easwaran (born 6 September 1995) is an Indian cricketer who plays for Bengal. He is a right-handed opening batter.
Early life
Abhimanyu was born on 6 September 1995 in Dehradun to a Tamilian father and Punjabi mother. In his early ye ...
,
Prasidh Krishna
Muralikrishna Prasidh Krishna (born 19 February 1996) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for Karnataka in domestic cricket and Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. He is a right-arm medium fast bowler who regularly bowls a ...
,
Avesh Khan, and
Arzan Nagwaswalla
Arzan Nagwaswalla (born 17 October 1997) is an Indian cricketer. He made his List A cricket, List A debut for Gujarat cricket team, Gujarat in the 2017–18 Vijay Hazare Trophy on 11 February 2018. He made his first-class cricket, first-class deb ...
as standby players. In May 2021,
K. S. Bharat was added to India's squad as cover for
Wriddhiman Saha
Wriddhiman Prasanta Saha (born 24 October 1984) is an Indian cricketer who plays for the Indian national cricket team. He is a right-handed wicket-keeper batsman. He plays for Tripura in domestic cricket and for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Pr ...
. On 6 July 2021, the BCCI requested that
Shubman Gill returned to India after suffering with a stress injury. Prior to the warm-up matches,
Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Rajendra Pant (born 4 October 1997) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for the Indian cricket team as a wicket-keeper batter. Having played all formats for India, he is best known for his consistency to score runs in Test c ...
tested positive for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, and did not travel with the Indian squad to Durham, with Pant remaining in quarantine. After Pant's positive test, four more of India's contingent also tested positive and were quarantined in London for ten days. On 21 July 2021, the ECB announced the 17 member squad for the first two Test matches. On 22 July 2021,
Avesh Khan and
Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar (born 5 October 1999) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for the Indian cricket team. He also plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League and Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket. He is a left-handed batsma ...
were both ruled out of India's squad due to injury. On 25 July 2021,
Prithvi Shaw and
Suryakumar Yadav were announced as replacements for Gill, Khan, and Sundar. Abhimanyu Easwaran was also added to India's main squad from the group of reserve players.
Mayank Agarwal
Mayank Anurag Agarwal (born 16 February 1991)
ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2012-02-01. is an Indian in ...
was ruled out of India's squad for the first Test after suffering a concussion during a training session.
Prasidh Krishna
Muralikrishna Prasidh Krishna (born 19 February 1996) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for Karnataka in domestic cricket and Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. He is a right-arm medium fast bowler who regularly bowls a ...
, one of India's standby players, was added to the main squad for the fourth Test match.
On 30 July 2021, England's
Ben Stokes
Benjamin Andrew Stokes (born 4 June 1991) is an English international cricketer who is the captain of the England Test team and plays for the England Twenty20 International (T20I) team. In domestic cricket, he represents Durham and has playe ...
announced that he would be taking an "indefinite break" from all cricket with immediate effect.
Craig Overton
Craig Overton (born 10 April 1994) is an English cricketer who plays for Somerset and England. He is an all-rounder who bowls right-arm medium-fast and bats right-handed. He made his international debut for England in December 2017. His twin bro ...
was added to England's squad as his replacement. Ahead of the second Test,
Moeen Ali
Moeen or Moein or Moien is a given name and surname. It is a Quranic name which means: helper, supporter, or provider of refuge.
Notable persons with the name include:
Persons with the given name
* Moein (singer) (born 1951), Iranian singer
* Mo ...
was added to England's squad.
Saqib Mahmood
Saqib Mahmood (born 25 February 1997) is an English cricketer who plays for England and Lancashire. Primarily he is a right-arm fast bowler. He made his international Twenty20 debut for England in November 2019, with his Test debut in March 20 ...
was also added to England's squad for the second Test, as cover for
James Anderson James Anderson may refer to:
Arts
*James Anderson (American actor) (1921–1969), American actor
*James Anderson (author) (1936–2007), British mystery writer
*James Anderson (English actor) (born 1980), British actor
* James Anderson (filmmaker) ...
and
Stuart Broad
Stuart may refer to:
Names
*Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile
*Stuart (automobile)
Places
Australia Generally
*Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory
Norther ...
. Stuart Broad was later ruled out of the rest of the series after suffering a tear to his right calf.
Dom Bess and
Ollie Pope
Oliver John Douglas Pope (born 2 January 1998) is an English professional cricketer who plays for the England cricket team and Surrey County Cricket Club. He is a right-handed batsman who occasionally plays as a wicket-keeper. He made his Test de ...
were both released from England's squad, allowing them to play in the
2021 Royal London One-Day Cup.
Dawid Malan
Dawid Johannes Malan ( ; born 3 September 1987) is an English cricketer who plays internationally for England in all formats. In domestic cricket, he represents Yorkshire, having previously played for Middlesex, and has played in multiple Twent ...
was added to England's squad for the third Test, replacing
Dom Sibley
Dominic Peter Sibley (born 5 September 1995) is an English professional cricketer who plays internationally for the England Test cricket team. In domestic cricket, he represents Warwickshire, having previously played for Surrey.
Sibley made ...
. Ollie Pope was recalled to the squad for the match, with
Zak Crawley
Zak Crawley (born 3 February 1998) is an English professional cricketer who plays for Kent County Cricket Club. He plays Test cricket for the England cricket team, having also played One Day Internationals for a short period.
Crawley is a top-o ...
being released.
Jack Leach
Matthew Jack Leach (born 22 June 1991) is an English professional cricketer who plays internationally for the England Test cricket team. In domestic cricket, he represents Somerset. Leach made his Test debut in 2018. He plays as a left-arm ort ...
was not included in England's squad, but remained on standby for Moeen Ali.
Mark Wood was ruled out of England's squad for the third Test after suffering a shoulder injury in the previous match. Wood and
Chris Woakes
Christopher Roger Woakes (born 2 March 1989) is an English cricketer who plays internationally for England in all formats. In domestic cricket, he represents Warwickshire, and has played in multiple Twenty20 leagues, including for Kolkata Knigh ...
were recalled to England's squad for the fourth Test.
Jos Buttler
Joseph Charles Buttler (born 8 September 1990) is an English cricketer who captains the England cricket team in limited overs cricket, and plays for the England Test team. In domestic cricket he represents Lancashire, having previously played ...
missed the match due the birth of his second child, with
Jonny Bairstow
Jonathan Marc Bairstow (born 26 September 1989) is an English cricketer who plays internationally for England in all formats. In domestic cricket, he represents Yorkshire, and has played in multiple Twenty20 leagues, including for Sunrisers Hy ...
keeping wicket,
Sam Billings
Sam, SAM or variants may refer to:
Places
* Sam, Benin
* Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Iran
* Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place
People and fictional ...
added as wicket-keeper cover. Moeen Ali was also named as the
vice-captain Vice-captain, alternate captain (ice hockey) or vice-skip (curling) may refer to a role in a number of sports immediately below the role of captain. The vice-captain may have a number of different roles, including substituting as captain when the re ...
for the match.
Saqib Mahmood
Saqib Mahmood (born 25 February 1997) is an English cricketer who plays for England and Lancashire. Primarily he is a right-arm fast bowler. He made his international Twenty20 debut for England in November 2019, with his Test debut in March 20 ...
was released from the squad, allowing him to play in the
2021 County Championship
The 2021 County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the 121st cricket County Championship season in England and Wales. For the first phase of the tournament, the teams were split into ...
for
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
. Billings was released from England's squad during the fourth Test, to play in the 2021 County Championship for
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. Jos Buttler and Jack Leach were both recalled for the fifth Test.
In January 2022, following India's third Test match
against South Africa,
Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli (; born 5 November 1988) is an Indian international cricketer and former captain of the India national cricket team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, Kohli plays as a right-handed Batting (cricket), batte ...
announced that he had stepped down as India's captain in Test cricket. On 22 May 2022, the BCCI named their squad for the rescheduled match against England, with
Rohit Sharma
Rohit Gurunath Sharma (born 30 April 1987) is an Indian international cricketer and the current captain of the Indian cricket team. Widely considered as one of the best opening batter of all time, he plays as a right-handed batsman for Mumbai ...
leading the Test side. In June 2022,
Mayank Agarwal
Mayank Anurag Agarwal (born 16 February 1991)
ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2012-02-01. is an Indian in ...
was added to India's squad for the fifth Test, after Rohit Sharma tested positive for COVID-19. On 29 June 2022, Rohit Sharma again tested positive for COVID-19, with him undertaking two further tests to confirm his availability for the fifth Test.
KL Rahul
Kannanur Lokesh Rahul (born 18 April 1992) is an Indian international cricketer who currently is the vice-captain of the Indian cricket team in test cricket. He is a Right-handed batter and occasional wicketkeeper. He plays for Karnataka in ...
was ruled out of India's squad for the fifth Test after undergoing surgery for a
hernia
A hernia is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the gr ...
. Sharma was ruled out of the match, with
Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Jasbirsingh Bumrah (born 6 December 1993) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for the Indian national cricket team in all formats of the game. In the India's domestic cricket, he plays for Gujarat cricket team and Mumbai I ...
named as India's captain and
Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Rajendra Pant (born 4 October 1997) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for the Indian cricket team as a wicket-keeper batter. Having played all formats for India, he is best known for his consistency to score runs in Test c ...
as the team's vice-captain.
On 27 June 2022, shortly after the conclusion of the series
against New Zealand, England confirmed their squad for the fifth Test.
Ben Foakes was ruled out of the match after failing to recover from COVID-19.
Warm-up match
Ahead of the Test series, India were scheduled to play two intra-squad warm-up matches against
India A
The India A cricket team is a national cricket team representing India. It is the second-tier of Indian international cricket, below the full India national cricket team. The team is currently captained by Priyank Panchal in first-class cricket a ...
. However, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the
England and Wales Cricket Board
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the Sports governing body, national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test and ...
(ECB) confirmed that India would play two intra-squad four-day matches instead, with India travelling with a larger squad. Two
first-class matches were planned against
county teams
A county is a geographic region within Gaelic games, controlled by a county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and originally based on the 32 counties of Ireland as they were in 1884. While the administrative geography of Ireland ha ...
, but were initially replaced with intra-squad matches in
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
. On 14 July 2021, both cricket boards agreed to a three-day match against a County Select XI side as part of India's preparation for the Test series.
Will Rhodes of
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
was named as the captain of the County Select XI team.
Test series
1st Test
2nd Test
3rd Test
4th Test
5th Test
Notes
References
External links
Series home at ESPN Cricinfo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indian cricket team in England in 2021
2021 in English cricket
2021 in Indian cricket
International cricket competitions in 2021
Indian cricket tours of England
Cricket events curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic