Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh) [India] : Right-arm seamer Mark Wood is set to replace Ollie Robinson in the England squad for the fifth and final Test against India at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium starting from Thursday.
Wood has so far played two matches in the ongoing series where the pacer has managed to grab four wickets at an average of 55.50 against the hosts and will try his best to create an impact in the match as it is the last one of the series.
England Playing XI for Dharamsala Test against India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C) Ben Foakes (WK), Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir.
Coming to the ongoing five-match series, India has won the series 3-1, handing England their first series loss under the leadership of Stokes and coach McCullum. At this point, England will be playing for their pride.
Both sides still have World Test Championship points to gain in Dharamsala, even though the series has been decided. India is on top of the World Test Championship standings while England is eighth on the points table. Winning the match will earn a side 12 crucial points while a draw will earn them four points.
India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul, whose participation was subject to fitness, has been ruled out of the fifth and final Test against England in Dharamshala, while star speedster Jasprit Bumrah will link up with the squad.
Rahul could not join the second, third, and fourth Tests against England due to injury after he played the series opener in Hyderabad.
While providing the fitness update about Mohammed Shami, the board stated that the pacer successfully underwent surgery on Monday for his right heel problem. He is recovering well and will soon head to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to commence his rehabilitation process.
India’s updated squad for the 5th Test: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Devdutt Padikkal, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.
