England could select as many as three left-arm spinners for their five-Test tour of India in the new year, with the uncapped Callum Parkinson and Tom Hartley being considered for call-ups alongside the returning Jack Leach.
Leach missed the Ashes summer after the detection of a lower back stress fracture but, having proved his fitness during a recent England training camp in the United Arab Emirates, the 32-year-old is expected to be named this week in the squad to take on India.
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As well as a likely return for Rehan Ahmed, the 19-year-old leg-spinner who took seven wickets on debut in Pakistan last winter, two more from that UAE camp are understood to be in contention amid a belief that left-arm spin, against a predominantly right-handed India lineup, is the way to go. Parkinson – whose twin brother, Matt, has already played for England – is the surprise package after a season of only 11 wickets in four first-class outings for Leicestershire. But that in part came down to the 27-year-old falling out of first-team plans at Grace Road midway through the season after agreeing a winter switch to Durham.
Overall Parkinson has 145 first-class wickets at a shade under 40 but it is his angle and trajectory that have led to him entering the conversation. England are expecting turning tracks throughout an eight-week tour that begins in Hyderabad on 25 January and Rob Key, the team director and still chairing selection, has previously stated a need for spinners who drive the ball into the surface like India’s Ravindra Jadeja.
Lancashire’s Hartley, who made his one-day international debut against Ireland in September, is another in the mix. The 24-year-old has only 40 first-class wickets to his name but, at 6ft 4in, could ask similar questions to those posed by Axar Patel during England’s 3-1 defeat in India in 2021. In the case of both rookies, accuracy and consistency would be essential.
This quality would perhaps be more guaranteed from a seasoned campaigner such as Liam Dawson, not least after 49 Division One wickets at 20 for Hampshire this year. But Dawson, 33, has already signed up to play franchise Twenty20 cricket overseas this winter and indicated that a Test call-up would present him with a difficult choice.
With Moeen Ali having returned to Test retirement after the Ashes, taking one or both of Parkinson and Hartley could mean no frontline right-arm off-spinner. The all-rounder Will Jacks is an option but, like Dawson, has signed to play in South Africa’s SA20. Unless Jacks gets the call in the coming days and changes his winter plans, Joe Root’s ever-increasing role with the ball may well continue.
Elsewhere, England’s squad is set to be consistent with selections under Key and the head coach, Brendon McCullum, to date. Things could get complicated in the first-choice batting lineup, however, with Ben Foakes expected to return to the squad after his Ashes omission and, given his expertise behind the stumps on turning tracks, possibly the XI too.
As such – and with Ollie Pope fit again after a shoulder injury cut short his Ashes campaign – one regular may have to drop out for Foakes. The balance of the team is also not straightforward either, with Ben Stokes undergoing rehabilitation from recent knee surgery and not guaranteed to start the series as an all-rounder.
England also have no warm-up fixture at the start of the tour either, with the squad set to train in the UAE from 12 January before arriving in India three days out from arguably the most daunting challenge in international cricket.
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