Ollie Pope
Ollie Pope on Wednesday was added to the England Test squad for the Test series against India.
Pope has been added after recovering from his shoulder injury which he had sustained in August 2020 during a Test against Pakistan at home. Pope has been cleared by England medical team and is hence available for selection for the first two Tests against India.
Pope has already begun training for the four-Test series in the last two days. Team England will have their final practice session on Thursday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium ahead of the opener in Chennai.
The four-Test series begins from February 5 onwards where both the first two Tests will be played in Chennai. The first will be behind closed doors while the second will have a crowd percentage of 50. The third and fourth Test, both of which will be played at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad, will also be expected to allow spectators at the venue.
This is India's first home Test series in 14 months, the last being against Bangaldesh in November 2019. India will aim to win the contest by margins of 2-0, 2-1, 3-0, 3-1 or 4-0 to qualify for the World Test Championship final and take on New Zealand at the Lord's. England have the opportunity to deny India the berth and snatch it for themselves with a 3-1 or 4-0 win.
