England’s managing director of cricket Rob Key has said that Ben Stokes is expected to be a specialist batter for the five-match Test series against India. Stokes recently had a knee surgery after the conclusion of the ODI World Cup and he is expected to be fit for the Test series against India.

In fact, Stokes played as a specialist batter in the ODI showpiece owing to his knee problem. Stokes bowled only 29 overs in the Ashes series against Australia in 2023 and played a major role with as a batter and leader.

“His surgery has been a success, we are expecting him to be fit but we are not expecting him to be able to bowl,” said managing director of England men’s cricket Rob Key.

“We never had him down to be bowling in India. This is part of an ongoing process in terms of getting him back to bowling.”

Stokes is going to hold the key both as a batter as well as a captain against India. The all-rounder will aim to get the best out of his team in tough Indian conditions and it is not going to be easy for the visitors to savor success, especially against Indian spinners.

Meanwhile, Ben Stokes has also pulled out of IPL 2024 to manage his workload and has not put his hat in the ring for mini-auction.

The first Test match between India and England will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad from January 25.

England Test squad for India tour:

Ben Stokes, James Anderson, Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson*, Jonny Bairstow, Shoaib Bashir*, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley*, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood. (* indicates uncapped players).