Gus Atkinson drafted in as England consider bold team changes after Edgbaston Test disaster

On Sunday, July 6, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced the addition of the 27-year-old pacer Gus Atkinson to the squad for the third Test against the India National Cricket Team.

ECB made the decision to include the 27-year-old Surrey fast bowler in the squad after the disastrous performance of the English team in the second Test match at Edgbaston in Birmingham.

Gus Atkinson returns from injury

The third Test between India and England is set to be hosted by the Lord's Cricket Ground in London from July 10, and heading into the match, the series scoreline stands at 1-1.

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Gus Atkinson is highly likely to get a game at Lord's after being added to the team following his recovery from an injury. Notably, the right-arm pacer had suffered a right hamstring injury during the match against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge in May.

Gus Atkinson has been quite impressive in the 12 Test matches that he has played for the Three Lions, picking up 55 wickets at an average of 22.30, an economy of 3.74, and a strike rate of 35.7. Also, with the bat, he has scored 352 runs, including a century.

Meanwhile, England faced a humiliating 336-run defeat to India in the Edgbaston Test after winning the Headingley Test by 5 wickets.

The English pacers have been totally exhausted in the first two matches, with the pitches being flat. Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, and Chris Woakes have all bowled between 77 and 82 overs in the first two matches.

Also Read: England suffer huge blow as Captain gets ruled out of 3rd match against India

We'll have to see how everyone pulls up over the next two days - Ben Stokes

Speaking after the second Test match, Ben Stokes hinted that they were considering making changes for the third game to manage the workload of the players. He said:

"It's no secret that we have spent some time in the field and bowled some overs in the first two games, and we'll have to see how everyone pulls up over the next two days. With it being a quick turnaround, there probably will be a decision we have to make given how everyone does pull up after this game."

Ben Stokes further highlighted the short turnaround between the two games and rejected the idea that England are not capable of taking 20 wickets. He elaborated:

"That is so important in a series where we knew coming in that it wasn't going to be easy… We have to wipe this one under the carpet as quickly as we can, because Lord's day one will be coming around pretty quickly. We will have one or two days to get the bodies right and recover, and all of a sudden, we will be out there flipping the coin."

"You do have to appreciate how well India played with the bat. [They were] obviously pretty favourable conditions if someone got in; two of our lads showed that this week… You are allowed to let your opposition play well, and they definitely did that."

Other than Gus Atkinson, England have Jofra Archer, Sam Cook, and Jamie Overton as fresh pacers in the line-up.

England squad for the third Test against India

Squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.

Also Read: "Never understood the hype around Ben Stokes"- India veteran brutally mocks England Captain