The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) added another pacer to the squad for the upcoming Test against India, and it is Jofra Archer. Archer can get the chance to play in Edgbaston, in the second of the five-match series.

The English pacer has been out of the format since he toured England in 2021. For multiple injury problems, the talented pacer was ruled out from the side for multiple highly rated matches. In 2024, Jofra was part of England's playing XI for only 7 limited overs matches. The seamer himself, too, agreed that adopting the Test format again would not be so easy after so many years.

"I've been playing for a year and bowling for two years, including the build-up, so everything is fine. Now it's a different challenge, because I know my body can hold up to it. The mental part of the game will be tough. Over the next couple of days, I'm going to have to battle a bit with it, but it's all good. It's a new challenge, and I'll keep trucking along," he said. 

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Archer may have to face a tough compitition 

Before the 2nd Test, which is scheduled to start on July 2, England has multiple options in their pace bowling line-up. In the first match, Ben Stokes and Co. relied on Chris Woakes, Josh Tongue, and Brydon Carse as the pace bowlers, including the skipper himself. Apart from Wokes, Tongue, and Carse, Archer has competition with the other two pacers of the squad—Sam Cook and Jamie Overton—to make a space in the playing XI. 

England Men's Test squad

Ben Stokes (Captain), Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes