Ben Stokes' led England arrive in India; fans plead to take them to Ayodhya

The England Test team led by Ben Stokes arrived in Hyderabad on January 21, Sunday, for the upcoming five-match Test series against India. The first Test starts in Hyderabad on January 25 and is a part of the WTC 2023-25 cycle. 

India will be aiming to replicate their recent home record against England in Tests, having defeated them 3-1 in 2020/21 and 4-0 in the 2016/17 series. Team India’s squad for the first two Test matches has also been announced. India will led by Rohit Sharma with Jaspeit Bumrah named vice-captain for the first two Tests. 

PTI shared a tweet of England landing in Hyderabad and going on their way to the team hotel. There is a great air of anticipation regarding this Test series. England are well aware of the conditions they will be presented within the series. Recently after winning the second Test against South Africa, Rohit Sharma was very vocal about the kind of pitches that oppositions are expected to get in India. He was also livid with the Ahmedabad pitch rated “average” after the World Cup final.

England Reach India For Rivetting Test Series 

VIDEO | England Cricket team arrives in Hyderabad for the 5-match Test series. The first Test is scheduled to be played from January 25 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. pic.twitter.com/YzGknyrSPw

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 21, 2024

England who suffered an Ashes series defeat last year is bracing themselves up for another tough series against India in tough spinning conditions. They endured a tough World Cup campaign not so long ago in India where they finished seventh on the points table with three wins and six losses. Their defeat against Afghanistan was a new low for England cricket in World Cup history. With the odds stacked against them, the visitors are looking forward to challenging India. 

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England have named a 16-member Test squad for the Test series against India. They will be led by Ben Stokes with James Anderson on his yet another India series. They have included four spinners for the series with two of them uncapped. Jack Leach and Rehan Ahmed are the capped spinners in the squad. Meanwhile, Harry Brook has opted out of the Test series due to personal reasons. Dan Lawrence has been named his replacement.

The tour starts with the first test in Hyderabad from January 25-29. Visakhapatnam hosts the second Test from February 2-6, followed by the third Test in Rajkot from February 15-19. Ranchi hosts the fourth Test in challenging conditions from February 23-27. The tour concludes with the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala from March 7-11. 

Inko bhi ayodhya le chalo

— True That (@Demo_Cratic_13) January 21, 2024

Ayodhya le chalo inko

— A क्ष ಯ 🚩 (@bagga_daku) January 21, 2024

England who are known for their aggressive Bazball style of playing in Test cricket needs to tone down their approach against India. Nasser Hussain, the former England skipper has warned the current side not to criticize the pitch if they end up losing the Test series or find it to adjust to the conditions. 

“It will be very important, too, for England not to have any sort of excuse culture. If it does spin big like it did last time – certainly after England won the 1st Test – it will be the same for both sides. There can be no muttering about it being unfair or not good for Test cricket.” Nasser Hussain while writing for his column on Daily Mail.

England Squad For India Test Series: Ben Stokes (c), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root Mark Wood

Also Read: “Ben Stokes and Co shouldn’t have an excuse culture..”- Nasser Hussain