Talismanic India speedster Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the ENG vs IND 5th Test at The Oval, slated to start from July 31. Before coming to England Bumrah was expected to play three games in a bid to manage his workload. Although he has featured in the allotted three matches, with the series on the line, it was speculated that India will play their ace pacer in the last match.
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Head coach Gautam Gambhir also said after the fourth Test at Manchester that there were no injury concerns and that all fast bowlers were available for selection in the series finale. However, it is now understood that the BCCI medical team has not given Bumrah the thumbs up to safeguard his back, keeping long-term goals in mind. Notably, the 31-year-old has a history of back injuries with the most recent happening earlier this year during the final Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
In the ongoing England series, Bumrah had to take over a considerable amount of workload. Given the sluggish nature of the pitches, Bumrah in fact bowled the most number of overs in an innings (33) during the Manchester Test, taking two wickets and leaking over 100 runs for the first time.
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In the absence of Bumrah, the Indian pace attack is once again expected to be rejigged. Akash Deep, who had replaced him in the second Test and impressed with a match-haul of 10 wickets is expected to return to the playing XI. Notably, Akash Deep was forced to the sidelines for the Manchester Test after suffering a groin issue.
On the other hand, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh is expected to earn his Test debut. Arshdeep, too was in reckoning for a spot in the last Test but had to miss out after injuring his bowling arm in the nets.
Given how things stand, India’s likely pace battery for the decisive clash will have Mohammed Siraj spearheading the attack alongside Arshdeep and Akash Deep. Seam bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur will once again be the fourth pacer in the attack while Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja will be the two spinners.
Shubman Gill & Co currently trail the five-match series 1-2 and have a task cut out to eke out a win at The Oval to salvage a series draw.
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