IND vs ENG: Ollie Robinson likely to feature in Ranchi Test

England are likely to turn back to their one specialist pacer formula in the fourth Test against India in Ranchi. Both Mark Wood and James Anderson, who featured in the third Test in Rajkot, are expected to be dropped, with Ollie Robinson making his way to the playing XI. Shoaib Bashir, on the other hand, is expected to make his return to the squad.

The development comes after Ben Stokes’ recent bowling practice. The England skipper suffered a knee injury last summer and following which, he decided to stay away from bowling for a while. He underwent a knee surgery after the ODI World Cup and stated that he might start bowling in the upcoming English summer. However, the all-rounder has recovered well ahead of his schedule and might pick up the ball in the fourth Test.

Also Read: Ben Stokes eyes life on the bowling lane sooner than expected

The visitors are yet to make a concrete decision on the same as it is expected to be finalised on the eve of the Ranchi Test. Meanwhile, the idea of bringing Robinson is to inject some fresh legs. Anderson has played two Test matches on the trot, while Wood has played the first and the third match, and to manage their workload, the team management is considering bringing in Robinson.

Ollie Pope opens up about Ranchi pitch

Star England batter Ollie Pope revealed that the surface in Ranchi has a lot of cracks and is likely to assist the bowlers. He added that it doesn’t look like a ‘belting wicket’ and expects it to be dry, which will help the spinners.

Also Read: We are not going to change how we play: Ollie Pope

“There's a lot of cracks, it's very platey, and they've just wetted it as well, which generally dries it up. It doesn't necessarily look like a belting wicket at the moment. It kind of looks like one half is good, and then there are a lot of platey cracks. That's how we see it at the minute. I think we will see what happens tomorrow after the Indian team has looked at the wicket, then make a decision from there,” Pope was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.