Robinson, Bashir replace Wood, Ahmed in England’s XI for Ranchi Test

Ranchi, Feb 22:  England have brought in fast-bowler Ollie Robinson and off-spinner Shoaib Bashir into their playing eleven for the fourth Test against India, starting here at the JSCA International Stadium on Friday.

The duo replace tearaway pacer Mark Wood and leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed respectively in the starting eleven at Ranchi, which shapes to be a crucial Test for England. The visitors’ are 2-1 behind in the ongoing five-match series following the heavy 434-run defeat at Rajkot.

The Ben Stokes-led side must win at Ranchi to force the last Test match at Dharamshala into a series decider. Robinson’s last Test match for England was the third Ashes game at Headingley last year, where he bowled just 11.2 overs in the first innings before a back spasm forced him on the sidelines for the rest of the series. The Test at Ranchi will also be Robinson’s first game in India in the longer format. On the other hand, this will be Bashir’s second game in the format after being handed his Test debut at Visakhapatnam, where he picked four wickets.

While Robinson and James Anderson will handle the fast-bowling duties, Bashir joins Tom Hartley and part-timer Joe Root in the spin-bowling department. Jonny Bairstow has retained his place in the playing eleven despite averaging 17 in the ongoing series, with his highest score being 37.

England’s playing eleven for the fourth Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Ollie Robinson, Shoaib Bashir, and James Anderson