England announced 16 men Strong Test Squad against Sri Lanka, Stokes and Archer rested

England announced 16 men Test Squad: The England Cricket Board (ECB) on Friday announced the statement regarding the Test Squad for the tour of Sri Lanka early next year. A 16 men strong Test Squad is announced along with seven reserve players.

Archer and Stokes Rested:

The duo of speedster Jofra Archer and all-rounder Ben Stokes is given rest for the tour. Both the players were playing non-stop cricket previously and to manage the workload they have been excluded from the side. However, both Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer will join the squad in India?s tour in February 2021.

All-rounder Moeen Ali and wicketkeeper-batsman Jhonny Bairstow found their place in the squad. Moeen Ali took a break from international cricket in 2019 while Bairstow was dropped from the test side a year ago.

Along with Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, Batsman Rory Burns is given rest. Burns is expecting his child during the second week of January and will miss the Sri Lanka tour.

Ollie Pope suffered a shoulder injury during the home series against Pakistan in September will join the squad and will continue his rehab program for the readiness in India tour in February next year.

England and Sri Lanka will be locking horns for the two-match Test series. Both the games will be played at Galle International Cricket Stadium due to the Covid restrictions. However, the games will be played behind closed bars.

English players will complete their quarantine in Hambantota after arrival in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has provided facilities to train during the isolation. England will train for five days during the isolation period (Jan 5-9) at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium.

England and Wales Cricket Board have also named seven reserve players in case of any drastic situations.

England?s 16 Men Squad for Sri Lanka:

Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

Seven Reserve Players:

James Bracey, Mason Crane, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Amar Virdi.

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