The England vice-captain is ready to step up if Ben Stokes suffers an injury and has learned from his previous struggles in India
As a survivor from England’s 3-1 defeat in India three years ago, the pandemic tour in which they were spun out and then some, Ollie Pope could easily view the impending reunion with Ravichandran Ashwin and co with a sense of trepidation.
After all, pretty much everyone expects a similar diet of challenging tracks for the five-Test series that starts in Hyderabad on 25 January. A fairly heavy hint came after India’s recent 1-1 draw in South Africa, too, Rohit Sharma taking no issue with the extreme seaming conditions his side had faced “as long as everyone keeps their mouth shut” about Indian pitches.