Mark Wood returns to England’s bowling attack in place of Shoaib Bashir for third Test with India in Rajkot as Rehan Ahmed is included despite visa drama

England have made just one change for the third Test against India in Rajkot, with the series tantalizingly tied at 1-1.

Fast bowler Mark Wood replaces Shoaib Bashir in the squad for the match starting on Thursday, while Ben Stokes opts for a two-sea attack alongside Jimmy Anderson.

Rehan Ahmed makes the line-up despite another visa drama as England returned to India from their training camp in Abu Dhabi.

The 19-year-old leg-spinner was initially denied entry when the flight arrived from England after it was discovered that his visa was only allowed for a single entry.

It followed the story about Bashir at the start of the tour, when the youngster had to fly home to England from the first camp in the UAE after Indian authorities delayed his entry due to his Pakistani origins.

Spinner Shoaib Bashir is out of the squad while England opt to field a second player

Stokes will make his 100th Test appearance during the match but played down the significance of the game, saying ‘it’s just a number’

This time the blame lay with the ECB, which overlooked the fact that Ahmed’s electronic visa – unlike those of all other players and staff – did not have multiple entry approval.

That led to chaotic scenes at Rajkot’s new Hirasar airport, where the England flight back from their mid-series break was the first international flight to land.

But the tourists found Rajkot authorities helpful and Ahmed was granted an emergency 48-hour visa within 20 minutes. England was assured that the paperwork could be arranged remotely to provide Ahmed with the correct visa.

Stokes lines up in his 100th Test match as captain, while the bulk of the squad is the same from England’s 106-run defeat in Visakhapatnam.

England won the opening match of the five-Test series by 28 runs in Hyderabad.

Stokes went out of his way to play down the significance of his milestone ahead of the match.

“It’s just a number,” he said. ‘Each test is as important as the next. It doesn’t matter much – 99, 100, 101.

‘I think it’s a sign of longevity. I don’t want it to sound like I’m not grateful for the opportunities I’ve had. But the way to look at milestones is that it’s not done until it’s done.”

Stokes found himself in a very different England when he made his debut in Adelaide during the ill-fated Ashes tour of 2013/2014.

It was one that had reached the peak of No. 1 in the world rankings two years earlier, but fell apart amid bitter divisions in the dressing room.

India captain Rohit Sharma (left) inspects the Rajkot pitch with coach Rahul Dravid (right)

“I was young and took it all in,” Stokes said. “Every dressing room is different and the way it was run at the time was more authentic to the guys in charge, Cooky and Andy Flower.

‘That’s the beauty of leadership. If you’re loyal to how you want to be, that’s great. Do it in a way that suits you.’