England captain Alastair Cook gave enough indications that out of form Ben Duckett will be dropped and Jos Buttler will be recalled for the third match which is starting at Mohali on Saturday (November 26). Duckett was dismissed by Ravichandran Ashwin for the third time in as many innings on this series.
Starting the final day on 87 for two in their second innings, the tourists lost Duckett early on before being swept aside in 38.1 overs to go 1-0 down in the series with three Tests to play. The Northamptonshire batsman averages just 15.71 after four Tests and he is now likely to be taken out of the firing line for the third match.
That would see Buttler return to the team for the first time since he was dropped for the final Test against Pakistan in Sharjah a year ago. Asked if Buttler now comes into contention for Mohali, Cook said: “I think he does yeah. It’s certainly something which the selectors will have a look at.”
On Duckett, England’s No4 batsman, Cook admitted: “It’s hard cricket at this level. The difference I think is quite stark from playing at Northampton. Suddenly every innings is scrutinised, that’s just the nature of the beast. No doubt that kind of scrutiny affects guys. Ben is a very talented cricketer. I’ll think we’ll see a lot more of him in an England shirt. Whether he plays in Mohali or not, the selectors will have to make a call on that.”
Cook is confident his side can fight back in Mohali, saying: “We’ve managed to put India under pressure at certain stages in these first two games. In the end it doesn’t change: we’ve got to win a couple of games to get back into the series.”
