India squad for 5th Test: Jasprit Bumrah back in the team as KL Rahul misses out through injury

IND v ENG Test: India's premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah returns to the squad to spearhead India's attack after taking a break in the 4th test, but KL Rahul will continue to be on the sidelines as he is consulting health specialists in London for his thigh injury. (PTI Photo)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the India squad on Thursday, February 29, for the fifth and final Test against England. India's premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is back in the scheme of things after missing the 4th Test in Ranchi. The BCCI granted a break to Bumrah to manage his workload and the right arm quick is back to spearhead India's attack in the final game, which will be played in Dharamsala starting March 7. With Bumrah coming in, off-spinning all-rounder Washington Sundar misses out.

The BCCI released Sundar from the squad, who will now join the Tamil Nadu squad for their Ranji Trophy clash against Mumbai, starting on March 2. However, should the need arise Sundar could rejoin the Indian team for the 5th test, but that is unlikely.

The big news from the squad announcement, however, is the continued absence of middle-order mainstay KL Rahul, who is in London to meet health specialists for his thigh injury; he last played in the first Test of the ongoing series against England in Hyderabad before being ruled out of the next three Tests after complaining of pain in his right quadriceps. "The BCCI Medical Team is closely monitoring him (KL Rahul) and coordinating with specialists in London for further management of his issue," the BCCI media advisory said.

IND v ENG Dharamshala Test: Full India squad

The rest of the squad comprises Rohit Sharma (C), 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, and Akash Deep.

The advisory also shared an update on Mohd. Shami, who underwent surgery on his left foot to treat his Achilles tendon on February 26. According to the advisory, "He is recovering well and will soon head to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to commence his rehabilitation process."

India vs England 5th Test: Potential debut

Left-hand batsman Devdutt Padikkal has also been included in the squad. The 23-year-old first got an India call-up in 2021 against Sri Lanka. He played two T20Is in Colombo on July 28-29, 2021, before having to leave the squad because of a health problem. While there is no indication he could get a Test debut in the final game, he could potentially play in the place of Rajat Patidar, who has not had a great series so far.

IND v ENG Test series: Recap

The ongoing India vs England Test has done much to revive viewer interest in the long format. While the series scorecard reads 3-1 in India's favour, all four Test matches have seen the two teams compete at their absolute best.

There have even been a few records broken over the course of the four tests, noticeably by R Ashwin who crossed 500 Test wickets in his career. He also surpassed previous records for most wickets taken at home (Anil Kumble had 350) and most wickets taken by an Indian bowler at home against a single side (Harbhajan Singh, 86 wickets against Australia).

In other milestones, Rohit Sharma crossed 4,000 Test runs while Shoaib Bashir became the second youngest Englishman to take a 5-for in Test cricket.

There have been some fine batting performances as well from both teams, with Ollie Pope's 196 in the first Test in Hyderabad being the standout innings from the visiting side.

For India, Yashasvi Jaiswal has been a revelation as he shone with the bat with successive double-centuries - in the second test at Visakhapatnam and the next match at Rajkot - and leads the series with 655 runs to his name. He is on the cusp of breaking Sunil Gavaskar's record for most Test runs (774) by an Indian player in a single series.

India also potentially unearthed new talent by giving debuts to four players in the series: bowler Akash Deep, wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, and batsmen Sarfaraz Khan and Rajat Patidar.