India vs England: Anderson misses out as Eng name 16-man squad

There will be no James Anderson for the England Test series against India, at least not for the first one, as the ECB selectors stuck with the same team currently touring Bangladesh. England will play India in five Test matches, starting next month.

Anderson was already ruled out of the first Test in Rajkot, scheduled to start on November 9, but there was hope that the key fast bowler could recover from his shoulder injury in time for the second match.

However, reports in the UK have suggested Anderson could be out for the first three Test matches and the fact that England have named a 16-man squad, without Anderson's name in it, suggests he could be out longer than expected.

Anderson is a key bowler for England on any surface, but particularly in the sub-continent, where he can use his reverse-swinging skills. With the pitches in India likely to be on the dry side, Anderson's ability to swing the old ball would have come in handy.

However, England must now keep faith in the fast bowlers that are in the squad, with Stuart Broad leading the way. Along with Broad, the pacers looking to make an impression will be Chris Woakes, Jake Ball and Steven Finn. Ben Stokes, after his heroics in the first Test against Bangladesh, will also be a solid option for captain Alastair Cook.

England are touring India after four years, and they will look back at the last series quite fondly. Cook's side, thanks to some batting brilliance from Kevin Pietersen and the skipper himself, won the series 2-1 against India in 2012 and they will want to emulate that performance this time around as well.

England squad: Alastair Cook (C), 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.