England have announced their playing XI for the fourth Test of the ongoing five-match series against India to be played at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi from February 23 onwards. The visitors have made two key changes to the XI that played at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot during the third Test.
Leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed and their tearaway pacer Mark Wood have made way for Shoaib Bashir and Ollie Robinson. While Bashir has already had a hit in the series, Robinson will feature in his first-ever game in the ongoing tour.
Notably, the Three Lions are lagging in the series and must claim a win in the fourth Test to keep their chances of winning the bilateral contest alive. They got off to an impressive start earlier with a 28-run win in the series opener contested at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad.
The win in Hyderabad exposed India's batting badly as they crumbled under relentless pressure while chasing 231 on a day-four wicket.
However, the loss in Hyderabad came as a timely reminder for the hosts, who turned the tables upside down immediately. The Rohit Sharma-led side won the second Test in Vizag by 106 runs and registered their biggest Test win (in terms of runs) to stun the Ben Stokes-led side in the third fixture.
The two consecutive wins in the series have held Team India steady in second place on the World Test Championship (2023-25 cycle) points table. India's PCT (Points Percentage System) is 59.52 and they are only behind New Zealand in the standings with four wins in seven games.
England's playing XI for 4th Test in Ranchi:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir.
