India will be led by pacer Jasprit Bumrah, with the BCCI making the much-awaited announcement a day before the final Test against England, starting on Friday, July 1, at the Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham. Rohit Sharma has been ruled out after testing positive for Covid-19 once again. Meanwhile, the fast bowler will be ready for the challenge against a rising England side, who have seen an uptick in their form under a revamped management led by head coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes.
Rohit's absence will be a boost for England – he is currently the team's top-scorer in the series. But Bumrah will have the leadership of Virat Kohli to lean back on. Ironically, Kohli was India's captain during the first four matches of the series. Bumrah will also be the 36th cricketer to lead India in the longest format, and one of the finest pacers in the world, he will need to be at his best in order to help India win their first Test series in England since 2007.
In the bowling department, leading the line for India will be the trifecta of Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj. It will be interesting to see whether the team chooses to field spinner Ravichandra Ashwin or go with Shardul Thakur. Both players have the batting ability to turn a game.
But the biggest challenge will be choosing Rohit's replacement. With the regular opener out of contention, head coach Rahul Dravid might go for Shubman Gill, or even the experience of Cheteshwar Pujara, who was stellar with Sussex and earned him a recall to the Test side.
Other options include KS Bharat, Hanuma Vihari and Mayank Agarwal. But if Pujara is given the opening reins, fans might see Kohli in number three as the former captain looks to end his bad run of form. Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, and Rishabh Pant will most likely be the remaining batters in the line-up.
India Predicted XI for 5th Test vs England
Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Mohammed Siraj
