England to make bold team selection in upcoming India Test series

Head coach Brendon McCullum insists that England is prepared to exhibit great courage in their team selection for the inaugural Test against India, embracing one of cricket's most significant challenges.

England's red-ball team return to action for the first time in nearly six months on Thursday, commencing a five-match tour in Hyderabad.

India have been formidable on home turf over the past decade, losing only three matches out of 46 since their last series defeat to Sir Alastair Cook's England in 2012.

However, McCullum remains optimistic and is actively assembling an XI that could spring a surprise. On a pitch anticipated to provide considerable turn, England faces the dilemma of how audacious to be with a spin unit comprising the seasoned Jack Leach and newcomers Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, and Shoaib Bashir.

“What balance we go for in terms of the side we’ll work out in the coming days, but the thing we need to be is really brave with whatever we decide,” he said.

“India is the land of opportunity and that’s what sits in front of us now, we’ll take the positive option. Other teams might be better, but we want to be the bravest. We’ve got to do that and that’s got to be factored into selection, too.”

Ben Stokes is poised to lead the team, with England satisfied with his recovery from knee surgery. The captain departed from a private clinic using crutches at the close of November, initiating a race against time to regain fitness. He has been documenting his rehabilitation journey on social media.

He is not ready to resume bowling but McCullum is confident he is ready for action as skipper and specialist batter.

“He looks like a greyhound. He’s stripping fit,” he said.

“He’s put the hard work in and everyone knows his work ethic is phenomenal. I’ve seen him running around and I think he’s good to go. We’ll obviously make that call as late as what we need to. But he’s put all the work in and we’ll just have to wait and see.”

England are aware that they might receive criticism for being under-prepared if things go poorly in the inaugural game. However, McCullum expressed no regrets for opting to conduct a training camp in Abu Dhabi instead of engaging in warm-up games on Indian soil.

“The preparation was brilliant. The facilities out there are as good as anywhere in the world,” he said.

“The guys walked away from Abu Dhabi with a huge amount of confidence that we’ve prepared as well as we possibly can.

“In the end, all you’re trying to do is get guys in the frame of mind where they feel 10 foot tall and bulletproof when they walk out to play.

“We’ve got to take 20 wickets with the ball in each Test and we’ve got to get one more run than them with the bat. It’s not rocket science but it will be the nuances of the game and when to stick and when to twist which will be the fascinating part.”

Schedule for India vs England Test series 2024

1st Test: January 25-29 (Thursday-Monday) - Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad

2nd Test: February 2-6 (Friday-Tuesday) - Dr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam,

3rd Test: February 15-19 (Thursday-Monday) - Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot

4th Test: February 23-27 (Friday-Tuesday) - JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi

5th Test: March 7-11 (Thursday-Monday) - Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala

Comments

Submit