England vice-captain Ollie Pope on Tuesday said that the team could go with two seamers in the third Test against India, starting on February 15 in Rajkot.
England have been persistent going with heavy spin attack with only one specialist pacer for first two Tests.
However, with the recent pitch images suggesting a green cover, England are mulling to play two specialist seamers to trouble the Indian batters.
“If it stays like that, there’s every chance two seamers will be played,” batter Pope was quoted as saying to BBC Sport.
“I don’t want to give away too many secrets, but at the minute there’s a little bit more grass on it. It looks a pretty good pitch”, the England vice captain further added.
If Ben Stokes go with two pacers in the third Test, it is likely that Mark Wood would be the preferred choice to bowl alongside James Anderson against the Indian batters.
Picking extra seamer would mean, England would have to drop one of three spinners – Rehan Ahmed, Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley – from Playing XI. With Rehan Ahmed experiencing a “discrepancy” with his visa, it is highly likely that the young leggie would most likely to miss out.
