Robinson replaces Wood as England manage workloadStokes declines to commit to bowling himself in Ranchi
Ben Stokes has made two changes to his XI for the must-win fourth Test against India that starts in Ranchi on Friday. It looks like a reaction rather than over-reaction, drafting in Ollie Robinson and Shoaib Bashir on what he expects to be a spinning pitch.
Mark Wood and Rehan Ahmed are the players to drop out from the 434-run defeat in Rajkot that sees the tourists 2-1 down with two to play, Stokes attributing the former’s omission to his heavy workload and a desire to ensure he can operate at maximum pace. While Bashir, 20, returns to win his second Test cap – the scruffy surface in Ranchi appearing more conducive to finger spin, certainly – it could be viewed as Jimmy Anderson having been preferred to Rehan Ahmed in the final shake-up.