You might even see Joe Root taking the new ball: Ben Stokes

England skipper Ben Stokes is keeping all his options open ahead of the first of the five-match Test series against India in Hyderabad. Given the history, the surface at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium is expected to assist the spinners, and keeping that in mind, Stokes stated that he won’t be shy to hand over the new ball to Joe Root, who’s a part-time spinner in the squad.

Justifying his statement, the 32-year-old mentioned that Root has the calibre to take the ball away from left-handed batters, which will come in handy against Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. However, Stokes added that it completely depends on what he thinks about England’s game point at that moment.

“It would be a complete and utter ‘gut’ thing, as most of my decisions like that are. You might even see Rooty taking the new ball, depending on what I feel. If (left-hander) Yashasvi Jaiswal opens the batting, you might see Rooty opening the bowling because it’s spinning away from the bat,” Stokes was quoted as saying by The Independent.

“When picking the team it’s about what you think is going to give you the best chance of winning and who is going to offer you more in certain conditions. India is one of those places where you’ve got to think about selection a lot more than anywhere else in the world because of what you can get from the wicket” he added.

Meanwhile, England are likely to play two specialized spinners in the opening Test. Tom Hartley is reported to be given his maiden Test cap as he is expected to pair with Jack Leach. Rehan Ahmed, on the other hand, is more likely to wait in the wings as the visitors will play Root as the third spinner. 

Wicketkeeper-batter Ben Foakes is set to make his return to the playing XI, with Jonny Bairstow set to feature as a specialized batter. Meanwhile, it needs to be seen whether the Three Lions back James Anderson for the first Test or play him in matches down the line.