Batsman Ollie Pope named in England Test squad for India series
England have received a great news ahead of the opening Test against India with middle-order batsman Ollie Pope being declared fit and included in the squad for the series in India.
Ollie Pope has suffered from a shoulder injury during the three-match Test series played against Pakistan in England in August 2020. The medical staff and team management have closely followed his rehab after he was allowed to travel with national side to Sri Lanka in January.
The 23-year old has managed to cement his place in the middle-order for England after doing exceedingly well in places like New Zealand and South Africa. Ollie Pope smashed his maiden ton in Test cricket against South Africa in a Test match played at Port Elizabeth in January 2020.
Since making his debut for England in Test cricket, Ollie Pope has accumulated 707 runs in 15 matches at an average of 37.21 with one century and five half-centuries to his name.
Pope practiced with the entire squad for the past week and has fully recovered from injury that has kept him out for seven months. Pope was with the England team, who completed their second consecutive whitewash over Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka.
With Ollie Pope will be declared fit and available for this series, England have a lot of options to choose from with Daniel Lawrence, Moeen Ali and Ben Foakes, fighting hard for a place in the final XI.
It will interesting to see how Ollie Pope fares on subcontinent pitches against India’s star-studded bowling lineup. He will be looking to make an impact with the bat for England in the upcoming four-match Test series that is slated to begin from 5th February in Chennai.
The opening two-matches will be played at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Four years ago, England suffered a humiliating 4-0 whitewash at the hands of India in a series played in India.
