India vs England - "Maybe, Maybe Not": Ben Stokes On Availability As Bowler In Ranchi Test

Bowling full tilt at nets raised hopes of Ben Stokes rolling his arms over in the fourth Test against India but the England captain on Thursday preferred to keep the suspense over his availability as a bowler in Ranchi. Due to issues with his knee, Stokes has been playing only as a batter since the second Ashes Test last June. However, he was seen bowling extensively at the nets on the eve of the fourth Test. Asked about the possibility of him bowling in the match, Stokes said, "Nah, I think it's maybe, maybe not." Stokes said going in with two pacers is the best option for England, forcing them to include the tall Ollie Robinson in the playing XI, even though the Ranchi track is likely to assist the spinners.

"Bringing Robbo (Robinson) in gives us good options, especially looking at this wicket," Stokes said at the pre-match media interaction.

"I feel like the spin will be assisted, but I also feel having two seamers gives us a good chance purely because of Ollie Robinson's release height and his relentlessness with his areas."

The 30-year-old Robinson, who last played in the Ashes, has come at the expense of Mark Wood, while Shoaib Bashir replaced leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed.

"You look at the player Mark is, especially with the ball, you want someone like that operating at 100 per cent.

"His number one skill is how fast he bowls and the effort he put in last week was monumental. You want to be able to keep players like that on the field operating at that level.

"We do like to look at the pitch two days out and one day out, because that's how we like to pick our XIs. You want to give yourself some idea or some indication about what XI you think is going to give you the best chance.

"Looking at that, I think there is going