In Ben Stokes, England have a captain who will stand by the philosophy he has, the mindset his teammates possess when they step out on the field, and the strategy the coach decides no matter the conditions in the middle. Though England have already lost the 5-match Test series against India, with the hosts taking an unassailable 3-1 lead with the win in the 4th Test at Ranchi, Stokes doesn't feel his team has gone backward in their progress. For the England skipper, the scoreline doesn't suggest the nature of the competition his side has given to India.
Stokes believes that England have made big progress on their tour of India. Though the results don't highlight the same, for the veteran all-rounder, his players haven't been the 'pushovers' most of the other players have been whenever they have come to this part of the world.
"Well, it's like whenever we play. We want to win this week," Stokes told reporters ahead of the 5th and final Test in Dharamsala. "If you take the results by themselves you'd say we've gone backwards."
"But we haven't. The individuals and the team have massively evolved on this tour. Progression doesn't always show itself with the results," he further added.
Though the result of the series is decided, Stokes is eager to see the series conclude on a winning note for England.
"All you can do is try your nuts off in the nets because that's where you get better. We ain't been the pushovers like many teams have looked when they've come over here," Stokes said.
"We feel every opportunity to play for England is special. That's just our mentality and our mindset, regardless of where you are, or how long you've been away. But that shouldn't take away from the fact that this place is pretty special," concluded the England skipper.