| Venue: Himachal Pradesh CA Stadium, Dharamsala Dates: 7-11 March Time: 04:00 GMT |
| Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app, with daily Test Match Special podcasts on BBC Sounds |
Ben Stokes says his England team have “massively evolved” on the tour of India, despite losing the series.
England are 3-1 down going into the fifth Test and will suffer a first series defeat under Stokes’ captaincy whatever the result in Dharamsala.
“Just because the scoreline at the moment reads 3-1, it doesn’t mean that we’ve gone backwards,” said Stokes.
“There are lots of these things that we have massively progressed on as a team whilst out on this tour.”
England’s success in the series opener in Hyderabad was one of their greatest victories in an overseas Test, raising hopes Stokes’ men could become the first visiting team to win a Test series in India since 2012.
But England have since suffered three successive defeats, despite having solid opportunities to take control in each of the second, third and fourth Tests. Overall, England have lost six of their past 11 Tests.
The emergence of young spinners Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir in India has been a huge success, but England’s middle order has too often been found wanting. The likes of Jonny Bairstow, who will play his 100th Test in Dharamsala, and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes may need a strong performance in the final Test to push their case to be included in the home summer.
“If you take the results by itself you’d say, ‘we’re going backwards’, but we haven’t,” said Stokes.
“The individuals and the team have massively evolved on this tour.
“The way in which everyone committed to becoming a better version of themselves from when we last played was quite obvious; everyone’s fitter and it was just a really different feel around how we operated from the summer before.
“You don’t just get given an opportunity to go and represent England, you don’t just get given an opportunity to play in this team. Once you’re in, you have to earn it and keep it.”
Another player who may need a strong performance in Thursday’s final Test, if selected, is pace bowler Ollie Robinson.
In the cool conditions of the Himalayas, England could field three specialist fast bowlers for the first time on the tour.
Stokes described the pitch as a “belting cricket wicket”, meaning England could stick with the spin duo of Hartley and Bashir, but if an extra seamer is required, then Robinson is likely competing with the uncapped Gus Atkinson.
Robinson endured a difficult return to the side in the fourth Test. The Sussex seamer dropped a crucial catch and was down on pace with the ball after suffering a back injury while making a half-century with the bat. He did not bowl at all in the second innings as India completed victory.
“His work ethic away from playing was very good – he gave himself the best chance of being in a position to win that game for us,” said Stokes. “The thing to look at is that he was out on the field, trying to influence the game even though he wasn’t feeling 100%.
“A lesser man would have put their hands up, walked away and not even tried.”
Some of the England players will meet the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, before training on Wednesday.
Stokes, meanwhile, has confirmed he is available for England’s defence of the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and United States in June.
He also said he intends to play in The Hundred for the first time since 2021. Stokes has been retained by Northern Superchargers and says he will be available for four or five games under new head coach Andrew Flintoff.
