Robinson, Bashir recalled for Ranchi Test, Wood and Rehan miss out،
Ollie Robinson and Shoaib Bashir will play the fourth Test against India as England roll the dice in this must-win match on a cracked Ranchi pitch. The pair, who will replace Mark Wood and Rehan Ahmed, are the only changes from the 434-run defeat to India in Rajkot, which left England trailing 2-1, desperate to keep this five-game series alive matches.
Robinson will play his first Test in India, returning to the team for the first time since suffering a back spasm during the first innings of the third Ashes Test last July, which was also his last competitive match. He will line up alongside James Anderson, who performed well after bowling 38 overs in the third Test at Rajkot, with match figures of 1 for 139.
Somerset spinner Bashir was also picked ahead of Rehan, who is the team's second-highest wicket-taker with 11 wickets at 44 in three matches. The 19-year-old bowled valiantly but found himself targeted by the Indian batters in the second innings at Rajkot, returning 1 for 108 in 25 overs.
The decision to opt for Bashir's finger spin rather than sticking to Rehan's wrist spin reflects England's impression of what Stokes described as an “interesting” surface, which according to them, will contribute to a quick and user-friendly rotation. game. Surrey's Dan Lawrence was also considered for Bashir's position, providing part-time off-spin while strengthening the batting.
Instead, Bashir will join Tom Hartley and Joe Root as a slow bowling trio. Bashir made his debut in the second Test in Visakhapatnam, taking 3 for 138 and 1 for 58 in the match, after visa issues forced him to miss the series opener in Hyderabad.
This will be Robinson's 20th cap, and his selection is a show of confidence in the 30-year-old. Despite 76 dismissals at an average of 22.21, he constantly faced questions about his fitness and ability to bowl multiple spells for the duration of a Test match, in a consistently difficult venue. Having worked hard to improve his fitness over the past nine months, he has the chance to reaffirm his value as a Test bowler when England need him most.
He will play alongside veteran Anderson, who had been considered one of the bowlers most likely to give up his place, following his heavy workload in Rajkot and the short time between matches. He currently has six wickets at 35.83 in his two appearances to date, but has been backed at the age of 41 to lead the line once again.
England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Ben Stokes (captain), 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Tom Hartley, 9 Ollie Robinson, 10 James Anderson, 11 Shoaib Bashir
