RANCHI, India (Reuters) – Seamer Akash Deep became the fourth India player to make his test debut in the ongoing series against England after being picked for the fourth test in Ranchi on Friday.
With India 2-1 ahead in the five-match series, the hosts have rested pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah for the match.
Akash was picked as the second seamer alongside Mohammed Siraj.
Batters Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan and wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel have already made their test debuts in this series.
England captain Ben Stokes elected to bat after winning the toss but appeared unsure how the pitch, which already has cracks at both ends, would behave over the next five days.
“We’ve had opportunities throughout the series where we could have maybe asserted ourselves a little better but I’ve been really happy with the way that we’ve operated,” Stokes said.
“But 2-1 down, and we’re going to emphasise forcing a result.”
England brought in seamer Ollie Robinson and spinner Shoaib Bashir, replacing Mark Wood and Rehan Ahmed.
Leg-spinner Rehan was returning home for personal reasons, the tourists said in a statement.
India captain Rohit Sharma said they too would have liked to bat first.
“The pitch looks a little dry and there’s a few cracks in it,” Rohit said.
“We’ve got to play well to win, just like the last two games which were very good for us. We hope to continue in the same way.”
Teams:
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel(wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (captain), Ben Foakes (wicketkeeper), Tom Hartley, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Peter Rutherford)
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