IND vs ENG, 4th Test: Stokes says England ready to adapt to any conditions in Ranchi

England skipper Ben Stokes highlighted his side’s intention to adapt to the conditions going into the fourth Test against India at the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi, set to start on Friday.

“We get asked about the pitch and we give our opinion about it. But that doesn’t mean we are going in with too many preconceived ideas. The pitch could be as flat as a pancake. Who knows? If it is, we will adapt to it. If it does more than what we expect, we will adapt to that too. I think we are a team in which we don’t let these kinds of conversations seep into what we do,” said Stokes on the eve of the fourth Test.

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England, which suffered a humbling 434-run defeat in the third Test, has shuffled its pack going into the match, with Ollie Robinson replacing Mark Wood and Rehan Ahmed making way for Shoaib Bashir.

“We do like to look at the pitch from two days out and then one day out. That is how we like to pick our 11. You want to give yourself some indication about which 11 will give you the best chance. Looking at it like that, there is going to be some assistance for the spin. 

“Someone like Bashir, who releases the ball from such a height, will get extra bounce and we feel this will bring us more into the game. But I also feel the need to have two seamers. [Ollie] Robinson’s release height and his relentlessness will give us a good chance,” said Stokes, explaining the thought process behind his team selection.

Wood was vital to Stokes’ plans in Rajkot, with the right-arm pacer scalping four first-innings wickets. But the 34-year-old wasn’t as effective in the second innings, where the Indian batters ran amok.

“Mark always operates at 100 per cent and you want someone like that in your team. His biggest skill in my opinion is how fast he bowls. And the effort he put in in the last week was monumental. You want to be able to keep players like him operating at that level,” said Stokes, reasoning the decision to bench Wood.

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The 32-year-old Stokes, who was seen rolling his arm over in the nets yesterday, said that he felt all right after exerting, but added that his participation with the ball in this Test is a ‘maybe, maybe not’ decision.

Stokes also expressed his backing for the out-of-form Jonny Bairstow, with the right-handed batter going past the 50-run mark just once in his last 10 international matches.

“If batters have a tough time over a short period, they come under scrutiny. I don’t look at it like that. I look at what Jonny has contributed over a long period since I became the captain. He is a quality player. He has been integral to what we have done,” added Stokes.