Despite being one of England’s finest keepers, Ben Foakes has been considered a backup option to Jonny Bairstow for most of his career. While Bairstow was out of action in 2022 due to a leg injury, Foakes proved his worth by scoring a century against South Africa in Manchester and also scored half-centuries against Pakistan and New Zealand.

Despite this, he could not cement his place in the England Test team and was not considered for selection during the Ashes 2023. However, with Harry Brook out of the India series due to personal reasons, 30-year-old Fox has got a place in the national team. The flamboyant batsman Bairstow will play as a specialist batsman, in such a situation Fox will get a chance as a wicketkeeper in the playing XI.

This is also a big plus point for the Ben Stokes-led side as Foakes’s experience in wicket-keeping will come in handy in India’s spin-friendly conditions. Reflecting on that, Stokes pointed out that the cricketer can do things that other keepers cannot. Along with this, he praised the wicketkeeper batsman a lot.

Ben Stokes praised Ben Fox fiercely

Ben Stokes said as quoted by BBC, “He (Ben Foakes) can not only do things that other players can’t do, but he can also make them look incredibly easy. He is a great wicketkeeper and he can make a big difference in this series.

Apart from this, Stokes is extremely happy with the progress of Tom Hartley in the last few weeks. The all-rounder said that Hartley bowls with hard length and pace, which is difficult for the batsmen to understand. Meanwhile, there are reports of him getting a chance in the first test in Hyderabad. Shoaib Bashir has already been ruled out of the match, so Hartley and Jack Leach will be the two main spin bowlers of the team, while Joe Root will be the third option.

Also read: Australian team will enter the T20I series against West Indies with a new captain.