The fifth match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy will be played at The Oval in London from 31 July to 4 August. After four matches in the five-Test series between India and England, the home team leads 2-1. India no longer has a chance to win the series, but they can still level it at 2-2 with a draw in the final match. However, for the fifth Test, there are likely to be as many as four changes in the Indian playing XI due to different reasons.
India somehow managed to draw the Manchester Test, but the worry for the final match is that two key match-winners will be unavailable, while some players are likely to be dropped due to poor form.
First, let’s talk about Rishabh Pant. India’s vice-captain and wicketkeeper has been ruled out of the fifth Test due to a fractured toe. In his absence, wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel is expected to be included in the playing XI, even though N Jagadeesan has been named as Pant’s replacement in the squad.
The second major change involves Jasprit Bumrah. Due to workload management, Bumrah will not play the fifth Test. It had been decided before the series began that he would play only three Tests, and he has already completed those matches. Neither captain Shubman Gill nor head coach Gautam Gambhir confirmed his availability. In his place, Akash Deep is likely to return. He had played two Tests earlier on this tour but was replaced in the fourth Test by Anshul Kamboj, whose performance was below par.
Anshul Kamboj is expected to be replaced by Arshdeep Singh, who missed the fourth Test due to injury. All-rounder Shardul Thakur, who played instead of Nitish Kumar Reddy, also failed to make an impact with the ball, so he too might be dropped. The team management is considering bringing in spinner Kuldeep Yadav in his place.
There is unlikely to be any change in the top four batting order. Karun Nair will remain out, as Sai Sudharsan scored a half-century in the first innings of the previous Test, despite getting out for a duck in the second innings.
India’s Probable Playing XI for the 5th Test against England
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, and Mohammed Siraj.