England have handed recalls to Ollie Robinson and Shoaib Bashir ahead of Friday’s Fourth Test against India, with Ben Stokes remaining coy on whether he will bowl in the must-win contest.
The tourists trail 2-1 in the five-match series following last week’s 434-run drubbing in Rajkot and must win in Ranchi to force a Fifth Test decider next month.
Stokes and England’s coaching staff again inspected what looks at bizarre surface at the JSCA International Stadium before naming their team this morning. There are large cracks running down one side of the wicket, with Stokes admitting yesterday he had “never seen something like that before”.
The pitch is expected to offer early turn and England had the option of going back to the three-spinner formula with which they started the tour - or even drafting in Dan Lawrence to pack the batting in anticipation of a shortened game.
Instead, though, they have stuck with the same balance as the Third Test, with Robinson replacing fellow seamer Mark Wood and Bashir preferred to Rehan Ahmed as the second spinner alongside Tom Hartley.
He has done everything he has needed to and I'm really looking forward to seeing him out on the park again
Ben Stokes on Ollie Robinson
Robinson has not played any competitive cricket since suffering a back spasm midway through the Third Ashes Test last summer and has had to bide his time for a way into this series. The 30-year-old has never played a Test in India before but excelled on dry pitches in Pakistan at the end of 2022 and today received firm backing from his captain.
“The way he kept everything going, going and going through the obvious disappointment of not playing is a great way to operate,” Stokes said. "Now the chance is here. He has done everything he has needed to and I'm really looking forward to seeing him out on the park again.”
Bashir made an assured debut when taking in the Second Test, before making way as England opted for an extra seamer in Rajkot and his return sees teenager Ahmed left out for the first time in the series.
“The skillset Bash has is his release point and how much bounce he can get,” Stokes explained. “We looked at that wicket, we thought that Bash's skillset will give us more of a chance than what Rehan has got. That's obviously not any disrespect to what Rehan has, it's just how we pick our team, based on what we will think of giving us the best chance to win a Test.”
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Stokes has not bowled in a match since June and underwent knee surgery in November, with the expectation that he would play as a specialist batter only throughout this series.
However, the 32-year-old has been toying with an early return to all-round duties this week after coming through a 35-minute spell at full intensity in nets on Wednesday.
“I've pulled up really well,” he added, without confirming whether he will turn his arm over when the Test begins. “It's another step forward for me in terms of the ball. As keen as I am to get there, I do have to be very sensible about it."
England team for Fourth Test: Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Bairstow, Stokes, Foakes, Hartley, Robinson, Bashir, Anderson