Published 21:20 IST, February 17th 2021
England coach Chris Silverwood highlights the importance of respecting rotation policy
England head coach Chris Silverwood has said they need to ensure that the rotation policy is worked to the best of their ability during the ongoing India tour
England head coach Chris Silverwood has said that cricketers do need to spend some time with their families, and as a result, his side would continue with their rotation policy.
England's squad was named for the third and fourth Test after the result of the second Test, and it was revealed that veteran all-rounder Moeen Ali will head back home. This is all a part of the England & Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) rotation policy.
'We have to rotate people': Chris Silverwood
"I think the rotation policy is something we need to get on with and make it work as best as we can. People do need to see their families, we are trying to make life for our players as comfortable as possible. We just need to make it work, people need to spend some time with their families. We prioritise Tests and T20s equally, T20 World Cup is here in India, but we need to make sure that everyone stays in top form, and in order to do that, we need to rotate players and look after them. I can guarantee you we are not prioritising anything above Test cricket," said Silverwood during a virtual press conference on Wednesday.
"We have to rotate people, that's why we are working so hard in order to have a big group of players we can work with. We have seen some players who we might have not seen normally. We understand that we need to do it. We also need to make sure that when we arrive at the Ashes, we have a healthy group of players that are all capable of performing. This all started for me one year ago, we have some great Test cricket between now and then, and we want to win everything," he added.
Due to the rotation policy, wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler went back home after the first Test as Ben Foakes donned the gloves in the following game.
The chop & changes in England's Test team
Ahead of the second Test, the visitors decided to rest their ace pacer James Anderson who had bowled an impactful spell in the second innings of the first Test match. All-rounder Dom Bess was dropped, whereas, speedster Jofra Archer missed out due to an elbow injury.
Frontline pacer Stuart Broad, who was rested in the series-opener found his way in the Playing XI after Jimmy Anderson was rested in the second Test. Meanwhile, star limited-overs specialist Jonny Bairstow, young all-rounder Sam Curran, and pacer Mark Wood were also rested from the first half of the series after playing two Tests in Sri Lanka.
At the same time, it has officially been confirmed by ECB that star limited-overs specialist Jonny Bairstow and pacer Mark Wood will be joining the England squad for the third Test that will be played under lights with the pink-ball from February 24-28.
(With ANI Inputs)
Updated 21:20 IST, February 17th 2021