India vs England Tests: India are set to face England in the all-important away Test series which begins in Leeds from June 20. India will be without their big veteran names like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin.

Ahead of the five-match Test series, England's senior pacer Chris Woakes has come up with his take on the Indin team who will be without big names. However, he backed the visitors to come up with replacements of ‘a very high standard’ with proven talent. Both ndia and England will kick off their respective 2025-27 World Test Championship cycles with this series which now has been renamed as the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy.

Both Kohli and Rohit retired from Tests within days of each other last month, prompting the selectors to include the likes of Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair in the 14-member squad. Shubman Gill has been named India's new Test captain whereas Rishabh Pant will be the vice-captain. The England tour will be the first big assignment for India in this ongoing transition phase.

"It's always good to come up against strong opposition going into a Test series that you know is going to be hard-fought," Woakes told ESPNcricinfo on the sidelines of the second India 'A'-England Lions game in Northampton. "We've had some good battles against Virat and Rohit over the years. For the game itself, it’s a shame they won't be there," said Woakes. "But Indian cricket has so much depth, the players who will come in, I'm sure will be of a very high standard, who have proven themselves some way or the other," he added.

Woakes has had a remarkable record against India across formats over the yrars and got Kohli out thrice in eight Tests and Rohit once in two matches. While playing at home, Woakes becomes huge threat considering his ability to swing both ways and hit impactful lengths consistently. He looked in impressive touch for England Lions against India A recently and picked up three wickets in Northampton. He got rid of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Karun Nair as the visitors scored 348 in the first innings, led by KL Rahul’s 116.

"KL played really well, good hundred, on a wicket which did a little bit all day. There were periods where it was a bit quiet, but it was doing something for most of the day. I enjoyed all three to be honest. I felt like I could have a couple more, but pleased with how the ball came out. Most important for me was to get through 17 overs. Ticked box for me," Woakes added.