Has England played a big gamble for the IND vs ENG 1st Test? England have opted for just one pacer, Mark Wood. The veteran James Anderson is on the bench. With no other pacers, England can take the gamble to use Ben Stokes as their other pacer in the team.
But this move is like a two edged sword. Ben Stokes has just recovered form his surgery. This will be his first International outing. With T20 World Cup just 5 months away, it can be a big gamble for the English pacer to bowl full throttle in the India vs England 1st Test
With the pitch set to assist spinners, the visitors have picked three specialist spinners – Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach and Tom Hartley. Mark Wood has been picked over veteran James Anderson as lone pacer for the opening Test.
Big Gamble on Ben Stokes
The Three Lions have essentially played a big gamble on their skipper. After the ODI World Cup, Ben Stokes underwent an operation on his knee. As a part of fitness and workload management, Stokes pulled out of IPL 2024.
This clearly means that England are targeting the T20 World Cup which is just 5 months away. Though a late fitness call will be taken on Stokes, it is highly likely that he feature as a specialist batter. England would be unwilling to go allow Stokes to bowl full throttle in the series.
England’s Playing XI for 1st Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes (Wk), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, Jack Leach
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