Michael Vaughan backs this pacer to replace Ollie Robinson in Dharamsala Test against India

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has given his verdict on the Ollie Robinson vs Gus Atkinson debate for the fifth and final Test against India in Dharamsala. The Test match starts from March 7 with India leading the series 3-1.

Ollie Robinson looked out of sorts with the ball in the third Test in Ranchi. He bowled 13 overs and gave away 54 runs at an economy of 4.20. Robinson replaced Mark Wood in the playing Xi but failed to make an impact across the length of the Test match. He was not used with the ball in the second innings.

Vaughan shared his thoughts on Robinson’s performance in the Ranchi Test in Club Prairie Fire’s YouTube video. He further explained why Atkinson might be a better option in Dharamsala.

“They’ve got to play Gus Atkinson, the young quick. You look at Ollie Robinson in the last Test match, he just looked short of a gallop,” Vaughan said in Club Prairie Fire’s YouTube video.

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Ollie Robinson Has Just Not Played Any Cricket: Michael Vaughan

Michael Vaughan explained why Ollie Robinson was not able to perform in the Ranchi Test. In many ways, he echoed the words of Ryan Sidebottom who said that Robinson looked undercooked and was lacking enough cricket heading into the Test match.

“He’s just not played any cricket. Then you throw a selection his way, and he’s not got the overs. He looks the kind of bowler that needs a few games to get into a little bit of a rhythm,” Vaughan added.

The Ranchi Test defeat was significant for England for more reasons than one. It was the first Test series defeat for England in the”Bazball” era. This was also the first time that England lost three Test matches on the bounce under Ben Stokes’s captaincy. The trio of Ben Stokes, Joe Root, and Janes Anderson have now been part of 10 Test defeats in India as well.

England overall as a side have had a lot of problems in the series so far. From injury concerns to the availability of players to the players not performing at crunch moments all the reasons have been conjugated for their series loss. They are languishing in the eighth position on the WTC points table.

The management have rotated the bowlers with James Anderson being the lone bowler who has played the three Test matches consecutively. The likes of Wood and Robinson have been rotated around and now Vaughan is backing Atkinson to get his chance in Dharamsala. The pacer has played nine ODIs and three T20Is and will make his Test debut if he plays in Dharamsala.

The England pacer was roped in by Kolkata Knights Riders in the IPL 2024 auction. However, he has opted out of the season to monitor his workload. KKR have replaced him with Sri Lankan pacer Dusmantha Chameera.

Atkinson will get favorable conditions in Dharamsala if he plays in the fifth Test. The venue offers good seam and awing movement and there is also decent pace on the wicket. The weather conditions will be relatively cooler than what it was for the first three Test matches.

Also Read: ‘Was upset by numerous comments about…’ – Ryan Sidebottom defends Ollie Robinson amid criticism