Captain's ability to fulfil the allrounder role could increase his chances of being selected for Ranchi and Dharamsala.
Brendon McCullum suggests that he may need to restrain Ben Stokes from bowling during the current series against India. However, he acknowledges that it is a positive indication that the England captain is willing to resume his all-rounder duties in the last two Tests.
Stokes has been gradually improving his bowling throughout the tour after undergoing surgery on his left knee in late November. There has been an increase in the intensity of his bowling over the past week in Rajkot, with the batsman bowling at his full pace.
He last bowled competitively in June during the second Test against Australia at Lord's. Stokes had promised his physiotherapist that he would not bowl in this five-match series. However, following England's heavy defeat in the third Test, Stokes reconsidered his decision, as progress had been a lot faster than he thought it would be. He even believed he could have bowled in the match, which England lost, resulting in a 2-1 series score.
During his speech on Monday, McCullum expressed his optimism about Stokes' confidence. Although he acknowledged that Stokes would not take any extreme measures, he appreciated that as head coach, it was his responsibility to ensure that his captain did not overexert himself unnecessarily.
The inclusion of Stokes as an allrounder would significantly enhance the team's balance. In the first two Tests, England played with only one seamer and four spinners, including Joe Root. However, for the third Test, they dropped Shoaib Bashir and picked both James Anderson and Mark Wood.
Anderson and Wood performed exceptionally well in the first innings, taking four of the five dismissals between them. But they failed to take wickets in the second innings, looking exhausted after bowling 23 overs together. India piled on the runs, exposing England's inexperienced spin attack and giving them an insurmountable target of 557.
The Test in Ranchi starts on Friday. Anderson and Wood have just four days to recover. While McCullum stated that England will assess their condition, at least one of them is likely to miss out. Ollie Robinson is expected to replace Gus Atkinson. If Stokes is cleared to resume bowling, England could recall Bashir and have two seamers and four spin options available. This would give them the best of both worlds, especially with the captain's ability to reverse swing the ball and bowl bouncers. It would also give him the opportunity to follow his 100th Test cap with the 200-wicket milestone. He currently has 197 wickets at an average of 32.07.
In the previous Test at Ranchi in 2019, India beat South Africa by an innings and 202 runs, with the wickets being shared. England will not discuss selection until they have assessed the pitch during their first training session at the JSCA International Stadium on Wednesday and could confirm their XI a day before the start of play, as they have done in the last three Tests.