India vs England 2021: James Anderson Or Ollie Robinson To Be Rested For Fourth Test, Hints Chris Silverwood

England head coach Chris Silverwood has hinted that either James Anderson or Ollie Robinson would be given a rest from the Oval Test against India. He feels rest and rotation of pacers is vital as there are fairly fewer days of rest between the last three Tests.

James Anderson, who has taken 13 wickets in the series, and Robinson, who has bagged 16 scalps and was Man of the Match at Headingley, both have bowled over 116 overs each in the three Tests, and either of the two could be given a rest from the next game as Chris Woakes has returned to the squad and is likely to play his first Test this year.

“What I don’t want to do is break them. We’ve got a lot of cricket in front of us. The Tests are coming thick and fast now. Back-to-back, it is difficult,” Silverwood said.

“These guys are giving everything, every day when we are out on the field and we have got to make sure we are looking after them. But I won’t be making any decisions or judgments right now,” he added.

England won the third Test in Leeds by a massive margin of an innings and 76 runs after they had lost the second Test at Lord’s with a shocking show on Day 5.

That’s bound to happen. It is a logical and sensible thing to do: Virat Kohli

India captain Virat Kohli also indicated that the visitors would make a change in the pace department after the bowlers sent down 132 overs in Leeds. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj have played all three Tests, but it was Ishant Sharma who was off-colour in the third Test.

“That’s bound to happen. It is a logical and sensible thing to do. You obviously don’t want to push individuals to a point where they break down. That conversation is very important. Very sensible and logical one at that as well,” the Indian skipper had said at Headingley.

“We will have that conversation with individuals and see who is placed where physically and who needs to have a game off. You can’t expect with a short turnaround like this for guys to play four Tests in a row. So, we will have to assess who are the guys who will be given that many days to recover and be okay for the fourth one.”