Internet Desk: England is likely to make a couple of changes to the squad for the third test against India in Mohali which starts from Saturday. Middle order batsman Jos Buttler looks all set to get a call up in the side. He will replace a struggling Ben Duckett who just managed to score 18 runs in the four innings so far.
The England team management will be forced to make another change as Stuart Broad is yet to recover from the foot injury he suffered during the second test match at Vishakapatnam. Chris Woakes, who played the first test match of the series in Rajkot will replace Broad. Pace bowlers Steven Finn and Jake Ball are also in contention after left-arm spinner Zafar Ansari suffered from sickness and back spasms during his wicketless performance in Visakhapatnam.
The visitors are likely to go in with a four prong pace attack on the Mohali surface which has a history of favoring the seamers.
England coach Trevor Bayliss is confident with 26 year old Buttler who averages 30 in his 15 tests so far.
“I think he’s coming to terms with the fact that the best way for him is to play like he does in one-day cricket,” Bayliss said on the sidelines of England practice session today in Mohali.
“He’s showing a lot of confidence in the nets, which spin just as much as the centre does, and he’s certainly hitting the ball as well as anyone,” Bayliss added.
England’s batting has ebbed and flowed with only Cook and Ben Stokes showing real consistency, however there have been flashes of brilliance from Joe Root, Moeen Ali and 19-year-old Haseeb Hameed.
The tourists trail the five match test series 0-1 following their thumping 246-run defeat in Visakhapatnam and need to claim at least a draw to retain a chance of winning the five-match series.
But Alastair Cook’s team can draw inspiration from their heroics four years ago when they turned round a 1-0 deficit to clinch the four-Test series 2-1.
England (probable): Alastair Cook (captain), Haseeb Hameed, Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Adil Rashid, Chris Woakes, Steven Finn, James Anderson.