England Playing 11 vs India, 4th Test, 2024

England take on India in the fourth Test in Ranchi starting from February 23. The visitors are trailing in the series after losing the last two Test matches. They now have an uphill task of winning the series heading into the last two Test matches.

England in many ways were “Bazballed” by Yashasvi Jaiswal in the last Test as he blasted the opposition bowlers on the way to his second double-century in the series.

His all-out attack against the England bowlers particularly against James Anderson has forced the management to think about alternate ways to stop the Indian juggernaut.

England are likely to go back to their one specialist fast bowler approach in Ranchi. Reports in ESPNCricinfo say that Ollie Robinson is set to play as the specialist seamer with the management looking to rotate their pacers around. Mark Wood and James Anderson are likely to be rested after the pacers went around the park in Rajkot.

There are further reports of England skipper Ben Stokes likely to resume bowling in the final two Test matches. This will ease up the pressure on Robinson and allow the side to play with three specialist spinners. This way Shoaib Bashir can also return to the playing XI.

Bigger concerns are around the batting form of Jor Root and Jonny Bairstow. The former England skipper has not even scored 100 runs in this series so far and his modes of dismissals have been criticised heavily. Former England captain and cricket experts have urged him to go back to the orthodox style of playing Test cricket.

With Bairstow averaging just 17 across six innings in the series so far, Bairsstow is almost set to be dropped. England have options in Dan Lawrence to replace the batter. In this article, we predict England’s playing XI in the fourth Test in Ranchi. The team management will have a few headaches when they sit to choose the playing XI for the fourth Test.

Also Read: “Ranchi pitch has platey cracks..”- Ollie Pope reveals how the Ranchi pitch will behave

England Playing 11 vs India, 4th Test, 2024

Zak Crawley

Crawley will open the batting. He has scored 226 runs in the series so far at an average of 37.67. The right-hander scored 15 and 11 in the third Test. He has been consistently giving quick starts to his team but is yet to score a century.

Ben Duckett

Duckett will open the batting with Crawlwy. His attacking approach in the first innings in Rajkot kept England in the game. He has scored 288 runs in the first three Tests, the most for England so far in the series.

Ollie Pope

Pope is the vice-captan of the current England test team. Since the 196 that he scored in the first, Test he has lost his form. In the last Test, he scored 39 and 3. He is an important cog in the England batting order.

Joe Root

Root has struggled to score in this series so far. He has scored just 77 runs in six innings so far and has been dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah thrice. Overall, Root has fallen to Bumrah nine times in Test cricket. He has to score in Ranchi.

Jonny Bairstow / Dan Lawrence

Bairstow has struggled with the bat in the series so far averaging just 17. He might be replaced by Dan Lawrence in the next Test. Lawrence has scored 551 runs in 11 Test matches with a best of 91. He played his last Test in March 2022.

Ben Stokes (C)

Stokes the skipper will bat at six. Since scoring 70 in the first innings of the first Test, he also has been short of runs. He has scored just 190 runs in six innings. He is likely to bowl in Ranchi. He played his 100th Test in Rajkot. He spoke about abolishing the Umpire’s Call after a few decisions went against his team in the last Test.

Ben Foakes (WK)

Foakes will bat at seven. He has played some crucial knocks for his team and has been brilliant behind the stumps taking nine catches with two stumpings to go with it. He has scored 109 runs with the bat.

Rehan Ahmed

The leggie will be one of the three England spinners for the next Test. He has picked up 11 wickets in three Test matches and also scored few handy runs with the bat. He has picked up 18 wickets in four Tests overall.

Tom Hartley

Hartley will bat at nine. He has made a few crucial contributions with the bat scoring 139 runs in the series so far at an average of 23.17. He has picked up 16 wickets in the series so far, the most by an England bowler.

Shoaib Bashir

Shoaib Bashir will be the third England spinner. He missed out on playing the first Test due to a visa delay, played the second, and was dropped from the third. Bashir took four wickets on his Test debut in Vizag.

Ollie Robinson

Robinson will conclude the England playing XI for the fourth Test in Ranchi. He is almost certain to play as the specialist seamer with England willing to give Mark Wood and James Anderson a break.

Also Read: Ollie Robinson to replace James Anderson in Ranchi Test after Yashasvi Jaiswal’s hammering in Rajkot