Mark Wood returns to the England squad for the fifth Test against India in picturesque Dharamshala, having replaced Ollie Robinson as the starting point man for last week’s series in Ranchi The first change for tourists after the fiasco.
As is customary, Ben Stokes finalized his XI a day after the game and looked to end the series 3-2, which he did despite falling ill during the training camp. Robinson and Shoaib Bashir both missed Wednesday’s training with stomach complaints, but the latter retained his place by taking eight wickets in the fourth Test.
Wood’s recall was not unexpected given the beige, flat pitch at the HPCA Cricket Stadium and Robinson’s poor one-off form on the tour, which saw him struggle in 13 games after no warm-up cricket Reaches speeds of 80 mph. A wicketless over. Earlier, the back problem again occurred, this time while batting.
England’s final selection will depend on Bashir’s performance overnight and if not, it will force them to change their strategy as there will be no backup spinner. Surrey’s uncapped fast bowler Gus Atkinson is the only backup bowler in the squad, with spinners Jack Leach (knee) and Rehan Ahmed (personal reasons) already gone tour.
“I don’t think it’s anything to worry about,” Stokes said. “[Bashir and Robinson] I woke up a little sick to my stomach and you don’t want to put anyone at risk the day before a game so we decided to keep them away from the team. This is a smart move. “
On Wood’s return alongside Jimmy Anderson, who took two wickets from 700 meters to go in Test cricket, Stokes admitted he expected there would be more grass on the pitch after Dharamshala, which Three front seamers will be decided upon in his offense. In fact, the two spinners in Bashir and Tom Hartley were decided on the surface, which he described as “the belt”.
“It looked like a wicket that could have a bit of pace and carry,” Stokes said. “Jimmy has been Jimmy on this trip – absolutely fantastic – and with a fresh Mark Wood on the wicket you feel that will provide some pace [was a case of] Wanting to break the pace and fire of the game. Two spinners allow us to play any conditions at different times. “
Stokes offered his support to Robinson at his pre-match press conference, but illness aside, the 30-year-old is unlikely to feature in the game. While the England captain has defended his work ethic, the Sussex right-winger’s future plans are not simple given the growing number of health issues that have kept him sidelined.
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Robinson suffered back spasms during the 2021/22 Ashes series, which left the team’s bowlers behind in both Adelaide and Hobart, and the issue resurfaced during the warm-up to the Caribbean tour following that winter , which made him a bystander in this game. The entire series. Robinson bowled just 11.2 overs at Headingley last summer in his last match before this tour.
England’s illness is not limited to their squad, with members of the refereeing staff also affected. It is understood that Joel Wilson, who is about to take the field, and Kumar Dharmasena, who is serving as the third umpire, have both been affected.
India’s Jayaraman Madanagopal is the designated fourth umpire for the match and will take charge if any of his colleagues are unavailable under match conditions.
England (Confirmed): Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Bairstow, Stokes (c), Fox (wk), Hartley, Wood, Anderson, Bashir
India (Probable): Sharma (c), Jaiswal, Gill, Patidhar, Jadeja, Sarfaraz, Jurell (wk), Ashwin, Kuldeep, Bumrah, West Raj
