England have revealed their playing XI for the third Test against India and have made one change to the one that took the field in Vizag earlier this month.
Spinner Shoaib Bashir, who made his international debut in the 2nd Test, has been benched as England have replaced the rookie with fast bowler Mark Wood.
Wood played in the first Test in Hyderabad which England went on to win but the right-arm pacer went wicketless while sending down 25 overs across the two innings.
With Wood making no impact, England dropped him and brought in seasoned James Anderson who troubled India batters in both the innings in Vizag. Anderson finished with five wickets in the contest.
Bashir took 3/138 in India’s first innings in Vizag on debut including that of captain Rohit Sharma. In the second innings he managed just one wicket, that of centurion Shubman Gill.
This is the first time on the ongoing tour that England will take field with two specialist fast bowlers. Their captain Ben Stokes hasn’t bowled yet since making a successful return from a knee surgery.
“Having an extra seamer will allow us to use Mark Wood differently than we did in first Test,” Stokes told media on Wednesday.
England Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson
During a media interaction, England batter Ollie Pope had hinted Stokes may avoid rolling his arm over.
“Not sure if Ben Stokes will be available to bowl in the Rajkot Test, he is working to get his knee right,” Pope said on Tuesday.
The Rajkot Test will be the 100th match of Stokes’ storied international career.
England will be hoping to regain the lead in the five-match series after suffering a big defeat in Vizag.
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