'If they are not in your team, who will take wickets?': Sunil Gavaskar takes brutal dig at England for Oval pitch in 5th Test against India

Cricketing legend Sunil Gavaskar believes that England had opted for a green top pitch for the 5th and final Test against India because they don't have a lot of their wicket-taking bowlers. England are featuring this match without Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse, who are among the highest wicket-takers for the hosts.

Gavaskar, who is currently in England as part of the commentary panel, reckons that the Oval Pitch will help England bowlers.

“Arrey unke paas koi bowling hi hain nahi (They don’t have much of a bowling attack). this is why they have made such a pitch. Stokes has taken wickets, Archer has taken wickets and Carse has taken wickets. If they are not in your team, who will take wickets? This is why they have made such a pitch so that it helps bowlers like Tongue and Co,” Gavaskar said on Sony Sports on Thursday.

Stokes missed the spot in the fifth Test match after getting a shoulder injury in the fourth Test match. Stokes was one of the four changes England have announced to their playing XI for the final Test. Ollie Pope is leading England in the absence of regular skipper.

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Coming back to the fifth Test, England stand-in captain Ollie Pope won the toss and opted to bowl against India in the last Test match. Shubman Gill was unable to win any toss in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025.

India vs England playing XIs

India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel(w), Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj

England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope(c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue