India will take on England in the fifth and final Test at the Oval, starting Thursday, July 30 with an aim to level the series. If sessions and phases of play are counted, apart from a couple of days at Old Trafford, India have dominated them, starting from Headingley, but winning Test matches is not just about winning sessions but winning key moments, where England have excelled. England have already announced their combination for the fifth Test, making four changes and India too might play around with their side.
Captain Shubman Gill might have all but confirmed a debut for the left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, mentioning that he has been told to be ready. Arshdeep and Akash Deep both walking into the side will mean that the youngster Anshul Kamboj might have to sit this one out, after making his debut last week at Old Trafford. That would be it for the changes in the bowling department. Prasidh Krishna is also an option but if it's a green square, Arshdeep with a new swinging ball will be handy.
As far as the batting unit is concerned, Dhruv Jurel for Rishabh Pant is a known. However, if it's a green wicket, India might add a pure batter to the side in Karun Nair instead of a bowling all-rounder. Unfortunately, Kuldeep Yadav will not have a chance. There is case of India going in with four pacers, Kamboj staying in for Shardul, but would India be daring enough to sacrifice those 30-40 runs with the bat? Risk has to be taken, but will it be taken? That's the question, whose answer might be found out at 3 PM IST on Thursday.
The rest of the line-up remains the same with Mohammed Siraj doing the full series, like Chris Woakes for England.
India's likely playing XI for fifth Test: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Karun Nair/Shardul Thakur, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj
