Jake Ball’s international winter looks set to be an extended one, with England naming an unchanged 16-man squad for their upcoming five-test tour of India.
With James Anderson continuing to recover from a shoulder injury, Ball, alongside fellow Nottinghamshire seamer Stuart Broad, will form much of the spine of England’s fast bowling unit for the series.
Ball could well feature in England’s second Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Friday, after captain Alastair Cook hinted toward changes after his side’s dramatic victory in Chittagong.
He has been made to wait for his second Test appearance after debuting against Pakistan at Lord’s in August, but thrilled on his one day bow, becoming the first Englishman to take a five-fer on ODI debut.
Facing competition from Steven Finn and spinner Zafar Ansari, both waiting in the wings, the Welbeck Wizard could well be forced to bide his time before making his return to the Test side.
England Test squad for India Tour
Alastair Cook (capt)
Moeen Ali
Zafar Ansari
Jonny Bairstow
Jake Ball
Gary Balance
Gareth Batty
Stuart Broad
Jos Buttler
Ben Duckett
Steven Finn
Haseeb Hameed
Adil Rashid
Joe Root
Ben Stokes
Chris Woakes
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