Bad news for Team India as Jofra Archer likely to return for IND vs ENG match at Edgbaston

Jofra Archer, missed the 1st Leeds Test against India, as he was busy with first-class cricket. However, ECB MD of Men's cricket, Rob Key, dropped a hint about his return in the 2nd Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham, starting July 2. If Archer gets included in the Playing XI, it will mark his comeback to Tests for the first time since February 2021. His inclusion comes in the aftermath of his return to first-class action in the County Championship on Sunday for the first time in more than 4 years.

Will Jofra Archer play at Edgbaston?

''I would imagine that he will play at least one of the next two Tests. As I stand here now, that's where it's heading, but who knows? He could bowl the first ball of the [Edgbaston] Test. All options are available. The amount of work Jofra has put in over the last six months almost... There is a point where your [bowling] loads are there because of the building up you've been doing," Sky Sports reported, quoting Rob Key.

"We have to be careful with all of our bowlers but if you didn't want bowlers to get injured you would never play them. That's not what it's about. It's about getting your bowlers out there as much as possible so they can impact games of cricket," he added.

Currently, England are leading the 5-match series by 1-0 after chasing down 371 at Headingley.

England's Test squad vs India

Ben Stokes (C)

Zak Crawley

Jamie Overturn

Ollie Pope

Joe Root

Jamie Smith

Harry Brook

Jacob Bethell

Brydon Carse

Jofra Archer

Shoaib Bashir

Sam Cook

Ben Duckett

Josh Tongue

Chris Woakes