Follow UsEngland have named their XI for the third Test against India in Rajkot, starting Thursday (February 15). They have made just one change from their loss in the second Test in Visakhapatnam, with fast bowler Mark Wood replacing off-spinner Shoaib Bashir. Bashir debuted in Visakhapatnam and picked up four wickets in the game. Wood, on the other hand, returns to the fold after going wicketless in the first Test in Hyderabad.
As a result, Wood was benched in the following game, paving way for Bashir, while James Anderson was their lone pacer. Wood will partner Anderson in the pace attack, while Tom Hartley and Rehan Ahmed are the two frontline spinners to go with Joe Root's part-time option.
England vice-captain Ollie Pope, on Tuesday (February 13), hinted at the possibility of his side playing two seamers in Rajkot as there was more grass on the track. "If it stays like that, there's every chance two seamers will be played," Pope told BBC Sport.
"I don't want to give away too many secrets, but at the minute, there's a little bit more grass on it. It looks a pretty good pitch."
England go into the rest of the series without their premier spinner Jack Leach, who has headed home after injuring his knee. The visitors have not named a replacement for him.
Speaking of the decision to play two seamers in Rajkot, England skipper Ben Stokes, said, "I it looks a good wicket. Yesterday it actually looked quite English. It's a little bit different today. We weren't quite sure what we were going to do with the team but today made us realise that we are definitely going to go with two seamers.
"It just looks a good wicket. It's a bit platey. Over the five days, those plates might become a little but uneven. There might be some reverse swing which brings Woody into the game - and Jimmy as well."
Stokes, who will play his 100th Test in Rajkot, has urged his batters deal with Jasprit Bumrah their own way. Bumrah has been the pick of the bowlers for India this season, having picked up 15 wickets at 10.66.
"Jasprit Bumrah is an unbelievable bowler. He's proven that for a very long time and has performed really well in the two games. I think everyone has got their own way of trying to deal with Bumrah but we do have to score runs off him as well and that's what we'll try to do," Stokes said.
"But when that doesn't work you just have to give credit to the bowler and Jasprit's been outstanding the first two games. "We've all got our own processes against every single bowler and there's no team way of playing anyone. But as we always try to do we'll be trying to keep the focus around us."
There could be a few changes in the Indian XI, too. KL Rahul is ruled out of this Test, while Shreyas Iyer has been omitted from the remainder of the series. Though Devdutt Padikkal has been named Rahul's replacement, we could see Sarfaraz Khan make his much-awaited debut. He may not be the only debutant for India, as many reports suggest Dhruv Jurel could replace KS Bharat as the wicketkeeper.
The five-match series is currently level at 1-1. England won the first Test by 28 runs, but India bounced back in the second game, winning it by 106 runs.
England XI for Rajkot Test vs India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson