India suffered a major setback ahead of the third and final ODI against England after star pacer Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the series decider due to injury.
England captain Harry Brook won the toss and elected to bat first, but the biggest talking point before the match came from the Indian camp as skipper Shubman Gill confirmed that Bumrah would miss the contest. The fast bowler had only recently returned to ODI cricket, making his first appearance in the format since the 2023 ODI World Cup.
India have drafted Prince Yadav into the playing XI, while Arshdeep Singh and KL Rahul also returned for the final match of the series.
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Jasprit Bumrah ruled out with knee injury
Speaking at the toss, Shubman Gill confirmed that Bumrah was unavailable because of a knee injury, while also revealing the other changes made to India's playing XI.
"Boom [Bumrah] misses out, he's unavailable due to some knee injury. And so is Washington Sundar. Dube also misses out. KL comes in, Prince Yadav comes in, and Arshdeep comes back into the team."
Gill also explained India's decision to field four specialist seamers, saying the team believed the conditions would suit pace bowling more than spin.
"We're not the one who relies on stats so much. We think he's a great bowler, and we were looking for four seamers on this ground."
The Indian captain added that the team would also look to improve on their batting performance after losing wickets in clusters during the second ODI.
Bumrah impressed on his ODI return after nearly three years
Despite playing only two matches in the series, Jasprit Bumrah made an immediate impact on his return to ODI cricket after almost three years away from the format.
The 32-year-old claimed two wickets across the opening two matches while maintaining his trademark economy.
In the series opener, Bumrah bowled nine overs, conceding just 31 runs and dismissing England captain Harry Brook, helping India keep the visitors under pressure throughout the innings.
He followed that up with another disciplined spell in the second ODI, completing his full 10-over quota while giving away only 45 runs. Bumrah also removed opener Ben Duckett for a duck, once again providing India with an early breakthrough.
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His absence in the series decider is therefore a significant blow for India, who will now rely on the pace trio of Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna to shoulder the responsibility against England.