England may employ an all-spin attack

Visakhapatnam – Ben Stokes’ England side could go with an allspin bowling attack against an inexperienced India batting line-up when the second Test begins in Visakhapatnam tomorrow.

Rohit Sharma’s side suffered only their fourth home defeat in 47 Tests since 2013 last week in Hyderabad as England came from 190 runs behind in the first innings to record a stunning 28-run victory.

India will be without seasoned Test players Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja as they attempt to level the five-match series on a pitch that is expected to turn sharply from the start.

They have brought in uncapped batsmen Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan to replace the injured Rahul and Kohli, who opted out of the first two Tests for personal reasons. Spinner Washington Sundar comes into the squad for Jadeja.

England’s uncapped spinner Shoaib Bashir finally joined his England team-mates on Sunday after a visa delay.

Coach Brendon McCullum hinted Bashir could start if England go “quids-in” with a fourpronged spin attack.

“We won’t be afraid to play all our spinners,” New Zealander McCullum told SEN Radio as England look to extend their series lead to 2-0.

Left-arm spinner Tom Hartley took nine wickets on debut in Hyderabad but lone pace spearhead Mark Wood toiled for 25 wicketless overs meaning Bashir “comes into the calculations,” said McCullum.

“We’ll have a look at conditions and make a call. You’re not going to get every call right, especially over here,” he added.

Slow bowlers accounted for 18 of India’s 20 wickets in the first Test, the other two were run-outs.

England will decide their lineup after assessing conditions in the southern city.

“It’s hard to read some of the wickets but we’ll make a decision and go “quids-in” on trying to commit to that. Then we’ll see where we land,” said McCullum.

“Baz” McCullum and skipper Stokes have led a huge turnaround for England’s fortunes with 14 wins in 19 Tests with the swashbuckling style of play dubbed “Bazball”.

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh warned that India’s lack of Test batting experience was a worry.

“Yes, there is Rohit Sharma, but the next best run-scorer is (Ravichandran) Ashwin,” he said on his YouTube channel.

“In terms of batting, the lineup looks weak,” he added, saying that a tricky spinning pitch could work against the hosts.

India have been unbeaten in a home Test series since England, under then skipper Alastair Cook, won in 2012. –