England have announced their playing XI for the upcoming fourth Test against India which is set to start from February 23 in Ranchi. The England team has excluded their ace fast bowler Mark Wood from their playing XI, opting instead for Ollie Robinson, who has not yet appeared in the series.
Meanwhile, veteran pacer James Anderson has kept his spot in the starting eleven, despite delivering extended overs in the previous two Tests. Meanwhile, Tom Hartley, a left-arm orthodox spinner who delivered a decisive performance in the first Test in Hyderabad, will spearhead England's spin bowling in Ranchi.
England also made another adjustment to their team, with off-spinner Shoaib Bashir coming in for leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed following the latter's challenging performance in the Rajkot Test. Bashir, who debuted in Test cricket at Vishakapatnam, claimed four wickets in the match, notably dismissing captain Rohit Sharma and centurion Shubman Gill, yet was not selected for the third Test.
Jonny Bairstow, despite his underwhelming performance with the bat in the series, has been kept in the team. Media speculation hinted that middle-order batsman Dan Lawrence might play, but the visiting team has decided to continue with the experienced player of 98 tests.
The remainder of the team composition is unchanged. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett will lead off the batting, with Ollie Pope, Joe Root, and Jonny Bairstow following.
Captain Ben Stokes is positioned to bat at the sixth spot, with Ben Foakes serving as the wicketkeeper-batsman for the team. Following defeats in the last two Tests in Vizag and Rajkot, England find themselves behind 2-1 in the five-match series. To keep them alive in the Test series, they must win or draw the fourth Test against India.
England's Playing XI for 4th Test vs India
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson, Ollie Robinson
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