IND vs ENG 1st Test: How many spinners will Ben Stokes play in Hyderabad?

Will India prepare a raging turner in Hyderabad to stop Bazball? The answer, in all likelihood, is yes. But is the nature of the pitch even relevant if you pick the wrong team? Amid all the pitch discussions, people seem to forget that while pitch plays a big part in winning, having great bowlers is what ultimately gets you the win.

You don’t even have to go far back to know the answer; India’s last Test match is a testament to that. On a tough Newlands pitch, it wasn’t the Indian batters that won them the match, but their bowlers. If it wasn’t for that marvelous Mohammed Siraj spell, the India cricket team could have returned having lost the Test series 2-0.

So, the question arises: will England pick two or three spinners due to the surface or back their pacers?

One thing is certain: Jack Leach will play, and we’ll see Joe Root and his part-time off-spin, but will we see Rehan Ahmed and Tom Hartley in action?

Will Ben Stokes play more than one spinner?

The last time England toured India, we welcomed them with a flat track in Chennai, and they beat us by 227 runs. After that, every pitch we played on was a raging turn. So, this time around, no one would be shocked if India made a spinning track from the get-go.

Okay, now we’ve established that spin will rule the roost in Hyderabad. But, again, the question remains: will Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum field two or three spinners?

Given their track record since becoming captain and coach, the answer is yes.

The only time Stokes has played in Asian conditions as captain, he’s gone by a spin-heavy approach. When England demolished Pakistan 3-0 at their home, Jack Leach, Rehan Ahmed, Liam Livingstone, and Will Jacks played as main or part-time spinners. And those weren’t even turning tracks.

So, now, when they come to India on what will be spin-friendly tracks, England will play at least two spinners. Now which one will it be, Rehan Ahmed or Tom Hartley?

Rehan Ahmed a certain starter?

Similar to Jack Leach, Tom Hartley is a left-arm orthodox spinner, which in all likeness rules him out. That means that Rehan is the only other option with Shoaib Bashir out of the first Test.

Rehan has already played a Test for England and has 7 wickets to his name. The leg-spinner gets huge turn and offers some batting as well. As we have seen in the past, England values batting depth immensely, regardless of the format.

As for Hartley, he is a 6’4 off-spinner. On low and often slow Indian tracks, his height could be what separates him from other spinners. The left arm orthodox spinner can be best compared to Ravindra Jadeja or Axar Patel when it comes to his often flat trajectory instead of bowling loopy balls like Taijul Islam.

Neither Rehan nor Hartley have great numbers; they have combined played just 33 first-class matches. But they haven’t been selected for their experience but for their talent and mystique.

Given Ben Stokes’ aggressive approach, he’ll most likely play Rehan Ahmed, a leg spinner who turns the ball both ways and is more than handy with the bat. However, he could shock us all and even pick three spinners, with Tom Hartley making his Test debut.