Brendon McCullum provides massive update on Ben Stokes' availability for Hyderabad Test

England head coach Brendon McCullum is hopeful that Ben Stokes, the skipper will be fit in time for the first Test against India. England plays a five-match Test series against India starting with the first Test in Hyderabad on January 25.

England have announced a 16-member squad for the Test series against India. Batter Harry Brook pulled out of the series citing personal reasons. Dan Lawrence was named as his replacement. Lawrence was also a part of the side that toured India in 2021 for a Test series.

Meanwhile, Ben Stokes is fresh off knee surgery post the ICC World Cup 2023. He came out of his ODI retirement to play the World Up for England. However, it was one of the worst World Cups for the 2019 champions. They finished sixth on the table winning just three games and losing six. They even lost to Afghanistan in this campaign.

England arrived in India on January 21, just 4 days ahead of the Test series. The team was hosting a camp in the United Arab Emirates to get used to spin conditions in India. McCullum spoke about the work that the team had put in, particularly the England captain, who had a lot of work to do to get fit for the longest format of the game.

Also Read: “BCCI should clarify the reason..”- Twitter reacts to Virat Kohli opting out of England Tests

Ben Stokes Looks Like A Greyhound: Brendon McCullum

McCullum spoke about Stokes’s fitness. He operated on his knee after the World Cup and had a few months to rehabilitate and recover. As per McCullum, he should be fine. It is, however, not known if Ben Stokes will play as an all-rounder or as a specialist batter as he did in the World Cup 2023.

“He looks like a greyhound. He’s put the work in, everyone knows his work ethic is phenomenal,” McCullum told the BBC ahead of the series.

“I’ve seen him running around and I think he’s good to go. We’ll obviously make that call as late as what we need to. But he’s put all the work in, and we’ll just have to wait and see,” McCullum further said on Stokes.

Australia are currently leading the points table with a PCT point of 61.11. India are placed second followed by South Africa and New Zealand. England are placed eighth on the table. They endured a difficult World Cup edition and now will be tested in Indian conditions. However, they will play 17 Test matches throughout the year and will have plenty of chances to move up the points table.

England have added four spinners for this Test series. Jack Leach, Rehan Ahmed, Shoaib Bashir, and Tom Hartley will be the specialist spinners. James Anderson will lead the pace attack. he is 10 shy of 700 Test wickets and will look to overhaul that in this Test series.

The IND vs ENG Test series consists of five Test matches. Hyderabad hosts the first Test from January 25-29. Vizag will host the second Test from February 2-6. Rajkot will host the third match of the series on February 15-19. The fourth match will start on February 23-27 in Ranchi. The fifth and final match of the Test series will be held in Dharamsala on March 7-11, 2024.

Also Read: “End of it..”- Kevin Pietersen reacts to Virat Kohli leaving team India midway ahead of the Test series