&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "IND vs ENG, 5th Test: Pope to lead England in final Test against India. Check playing XI inside")
England have named their playing XI ahead of the fifth and final Test of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar trophy, which will be played at the Kia Oval in London. The final Test match will begin on Thursday (Jul 31). Notably, it is a huge setback for England as they will miss the services of their skipper Ben Stokes, who is ruled out due to a shoulder injury. The hosts will also miss Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and Liam Dawson.
Left-handed batting all-rounder Jacob Bethell will replace Stokes while Surrey bowlers Gus Atkinson and Jamie Overton come into the side, along with Nottinghamshire pacer Josh Tongue. England have not picked any specialist spinner with Bethell and Root to command the spin department. Ollie Pope will lead the England team. This shall be the fifth Test for Pope as a skipper, having lost and drawn one. Interestingly, the only defeat for England under Ollie came at the very same venue where India and England are set to lock horns for the fifth Test.
Also read | What is the highest 10th wicket partnership in Test. Hint - it came in India vs England match
Meanwhile, several media reports suggest that India would be missing their ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah due to ‘workload management’. Debutant of Manchester Test, Anshul Kamboj, might not feature with Akashdeep Singh returning to the squad. There are high chances that Arshdeep Singh, will get his maiden Test cap at the Kia Oval.
The Oval wicket is traditionally known to support the spinners as the game progresses. The Indian team will be scratching their heads over whom to play at no.8, left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav or Shardul Thakur, who gives the Indian team batting depth.
The Indian team will be in a state of dilemma as Shardul Thakur had amassed 117 runs ( two fifties), the last time India had played England at the Kia Oval. Addressing this issue, former India coach Sanjay Bangar said, ''That would sort a lot of the issues as far as bowling is concerned because (Mohammed) Siraj is anyway going to play. Maybe Anshul may miss out, andAkash Deepmight just come back in. So one spot remains. WhetherShardul Thakurplays or there is a place for Kuldeep Yadav, I would be tempted to go with Kuldeep Yadav."
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