News by “Sana Ullah”
RANCHI: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Thursday the lineup for the pivotal fourth Test against India, set to kick off on Friday.
The visiting team made two alterations to their squad for the Ranchi Test, with Shoaib Bashir and Ollie Robbinson stepping in for Rehan Ahmed and Mark Wood respectively.
Robbinson last featured for England in the third Ashes Test at Headingley in July. However, the fast bowler could only manage to bowl 11.2 overs before being sidelined from the series due to a back spasm.
He will partner with seasoned campaigner James Anderson to spearhead England’s pace attack. The 41-year-old veteran only secured one wicket in the Rajkot Test.
Meanwhile, Bashir, who made his Test debut in Visakhapatnam, also earns a recall to the side, replacing Rehan Ahmed. The leg-spinner impressed with four wickets in the second Test, registering figures of 3/138 and 1/58. Tom Hartley retains his position in the lineup, with Joe Root expected to further fortify the spin department.
England skipper Ben Stokes expressed optimism about young off-spinner Bashir’s performance on the Ranchi pitch, which is anticipated to assist spinners.
“We do like to assess the pitch two days and one day before the match because that’s how we prefer to finalize our XIs,” Stokes remarked.
“Someone like Bash, who delivers the ball from a high release point, we believe the extra bounce he generates will bring us more opportunities in the game,” he elaborated.
It’s worth noting that India currently leads the five-match Test series against England 2-1.
England’s Lineup: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir.
