IND vs ENG 2024: England got to play Gus Atkinson in place of Ollie Robinson – Michael Vaughan

Former England captain Michael Vaughan feels the visitors must play Gus Atkinson in place of Ollie Robinson in the fifth Test match against India at Dharamsala. Robinson, who was left on the sidelines in the first three Test matches, replaced Mark Wood in the final XI in the fourth Test at Ranchi. However, the right-arm pacer went wicketless through the whole game and failed to create any impact.

Robinson bowled 13 overs and conceded 54 runs in the first innings whereas he was not given the ball by Ben Stokes in the second essay as England skipper backed his spinners from the get-go. However, the 30-year-old from Kent scored 58 runs in the first innings and added a crucial alliance of 102 runs with Joe Root.

Meanwhile, Atkinson has scalped 45 wickets in 14 first-class matches at an average of 26.64 but he is yet to make his Test debut for the national team.

“They’ve got to play Gus Atkinson, the young quick. You look at Ollie Robinson in the last Test match, he just looked short of a gallop,” Vaughan said in Club Prairie Fire’s YouTube video.

Vaughan feels lack of game time for Robinson didn’t help the fast bowler in performing well in Ranchi. Robinson was also short on pace and head coach Brendon McCullum revealed that he twisted his back while batting in the first innings.

“He’s just not played any cricket. Then you throw a selection his way, and he’s not got the overs. He looks the kind of bowler that needs a few games to get into a little bit of a rhythm,” Vaughan added.

England will aim to make a solid comeback in the fifth Test against India.

The fifth and final Test match will be played at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala from March 7.