England captain Joe Root on Friday welcomed all-rounder Ben Stokes into the playing eleven but said leaving out the promising Sam Curran for the third Test against India was one of his "most difficult" selection decisions.
Stokes will return to international cricket after being deemed 'not guilty' by a Bristol court on charges of affray.
Curran will miss out as the hosts look to press their 2-0 advantage over in the five-match series.
"It's probably one of the most difficult selections I've had to make as captain," Root told reporters at the pre-match press conference.
"Sam misses out - Ben comes into the side. The difficult part is the fact that everyone is performing so well. I think some people would see that as the easy option, to leave Sam out.
"But he's offered so much to this bowling group - and at the start of the series I said to the team for us to win a five-match series against the best side in the world, it's going to take more than just 11 players."
Root underlined that the decision to include Stokes in the Test squad was made by the selectors and from there onwards it was just a matter of physical fitness.
"That was a decision made above our heads. From that point on it was about is he good enough to play for England. He has been a fine performer for us for a long period of time.
"You don't want to leave someone like Ben out. He offers so much to this group on and off the field. He is a big part of our team."
"I sat him down on Thursday, just me and him, and asked him where he was at. He told me he's desperate to get out there, wants to put in performances and concentrate on his cricket now.
"We've got a huge opportunity in front of us, but ultimately - as we have so far - we've got to start well first morning, and then try to carry that forward," Root said.
Curran was one of the influential performers in the team's win in the series opener.
About Curran, Root added, "It's about us as a squad performing collectively for five games, and he's played a massive part in the first two. It might be that he comes back in later on. On this occasion, he's unfortunate to miss out. But what he's done so far has been nothing short of high-class."