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England Test captain Ben Stokes has taken a dig at former cricketer Steve Harmison for his remarks about the team's preparation ahead of the five-Test series against India. The five-Test series will kick off on January 25 in Hyderabad but the England contingent will only arrive three days before the action begins.
The selectors have selected three spinners in the side including Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir given the conditions on their last tour of the subcontinent.
"Good job we're going to Abu Dhabi for a training camp before we go to India for even more training before that 1st test then isn't it," Stokes tweeted.
However, before touching down in India, England will have a training camp in Abu Dhabi.
"If England go in 3 days before, they deserve to get beat 5-0. They really do. I'm an old man, that is what they are going to say, the times have changed, the game has changed, but I tell you, preparation has not changed. You can't go into India underprepared. In fact, you cannot go India overprepared as well, you can be in India for six weeks before and still not be prepared for that first Test," Harmison said in an interaction with TalkSport.
Stokes went under the knife as he struggled with injury throughout the year. After the ODI World Cup 2023, he decided to pull out of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
The tour will also work as a test for England’s Bazball approach.
England’s tour of India 2024 full schedule
1st Test: 25-29 January, Hyderabad
2nd Test: 2-6 February, Vizag
3rd Test: 15-19 February, Rajkot
4th Test: 23-27 February, Ranchi
5th Test: 7-11 March, Dharamsala
England’s 16-member Test squad: Ben Stokes (c), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson , Jonny Bairstow, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook , Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett , Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley , Jack Leach , Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood
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