Chris Woakes has left the England camp but is set to feature in ODI series; the 31-year-old has not played a Test match this winter; Jasprit Bumrah will not play for India due to personal reasons
Chris Woakes has returned home as part of England’s rotation policy despite not playing any part in the four-match Test series in India, the team confirmed on Saturday.
England’s approach has been to rest and rotate their multi-format players throughout their India tour to reduce the strain and challenges of bio-secure environments.
But despite originally being in contention for the third Test in Ahmedabad, which England lost by 10 wickets, Woakes will not be part of England’s bid to level the series in the final match.
England kept faith with veteran seamers James Anderson and Stuart Broad in a four-man pace attack with Woakes also not featuring over the winter in either the South Africa T20 or Sri Lanka Test match series.
The 31-year-old is, however, in line to return for the India ODI series next month.
Meanwhile, England coach Chris Silverwood confirmed off-spinner Dom Bess, who missed the last two Tests, could return for the final match.
“He’s in contention,” Silverwood said on Friday.
“He was left out of this one because of potential movement we could have got out of the pink ball.
“From Bessy’s point of view I wouldn’t read too much into that. He has been great around the group.”
Source: Sky Sports