4th Test: 'Every time we play in India, there's question mark on...' - Indian batting coach on Ranchi pitch

India's batting coach Vikram Rathour opened up on the Ranchi pitch ahead of RohitSharma & Co.'s fourth and penultimate Test versus England, which gets underway on Feb 23 (Friday). A lot has been said and written about the Ranchi pitch, which is said to have a lot ofcracks. It is expected toassist the spinners the most so far in the ongoing five-match series.

With India resting ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah, it is a strong indication that the Ranchi pitch will favour spinners. Thus, Rathour also joined the bandwagon and commented on the pitch in the pre-match presser on Thursday (Feb 22). The batting coach admitted that the surface will offer spin but isn't sure by when the spinners will come into play.

"Every time we play in India, there's a question mark on the pitch. It's a typical Indian wicket. There are cracks. It will turn. But how much and from when we aren't sure," Rathour said to the reporters.

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The England team management is also expecting a lot of spin to be on offer. They have already named their playing XI for the Ranchi Test (including three spinners): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (vc), Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir

India will be tempted to bring in another spinner in place of Bumrah. Axar Patel can feature in the playing XI, strengthening the spin department which comprises R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. However, if India opt for four spinners, Mohammed Siraj will have a huge responsibility acting as the sole pacer. Other pace options are Mukesh Kumar, who was very expensive in the second Test in Visakhapatnam, and uncapped player Akash Deep.

India squad for 4th Test: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Devdutt Padikkal, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep