IND vs ENG: England to recall Mark Wood in Playing XI for Rajkot Test; Shoaib Bashir likely to miss out

England look set to make wholesome changes to their squad for the third Test match against India. Mark Wood is likely to be included in the playing XI again after being a part of the opening Test against India in Hyderabad. Skipper Ben Stokes has hinted that the team is looking to field two pacers in the Rajkot Teststarting on Thursday (Feb 15) at the Niranjan Shah Stadium. This equation could result in Vizag debutant Shoaib Bashir missing out on a place.

England set to recall Mark Wood

"The reasons why we would look at Jimmy and Woody would be I just like to have a point of difference. And India is never a three-seamer option," captain Ben Stokes said in a pre-match conference.

"Obviously having Woody's high pace, and if we were to go with two seamers again, it would give a bit more rest to Woody as he was that sole seamer in the first Test. So managing his workload. If we were to go with two seamers, we might be able to get a bit more versatility and use Woody how we want to use him out here and not worry he's the only seamer."

Although England have trimmed their options to 12, they will only announce the Playing XI on Wednesday afterfinal inspection of the pitch. It is also expected that Rehan Ahmed will be in the Playing XI despite encountering visa troubles upon arriving on Monday. Ahmed, who with the rest of the England squadwas in Abu Dhabi during off days, only had a single entry visa.

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The situation resulted in Ahmed being left stranded by the authorities at the Rajkot airport. It is understood that the England Cricket Board (ECB) is working on the visa issue and has been given special leverage to make Ahmed available for the Rajkot Test by the local authorities.

England look to stamp authority

Having won the opening Test by 28 runs in Hyderabad, the visitors were given a reality check by India after Yashasvi Jaiswal’s double ton and Jasprit Bumrah’s smart bowling in Vizag. India won the Test by 106 runs and will enter Rajkot with intentions of back-to-back wins having levelled the series1-1.