England’s captain, Ben Stokes, has been excluded from participating in the fifth and final Test match against India due to an injury to his right shoulder. Ollie Pope has been appointed as stand-in captain for this decisive Test at the Oval.
Stokes sustained the shoulder injury during the fourth Test, where he achieved five wickets in the first innings and scored an impressive 141 runs while batting.
Although the prominent all-rounder suggested in the post-match press conference that he would probably be fit for the final Test, the shoulder injury has ultimately prevented him from playing in the series finale.
The hosts have decided to rejuvenate their bowling line-up after being on the field for over 250 overs in the last Test, with only Chris Woakes keeping his position from the challenging drawn match in Manchester.
Due to the short interval between matches, Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, and Liam Dawson have been excluded from the Playing XI, allowing Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue, and Jacob Bethell to take their places.
Atkinson makes his return following recovery from a right hamstring injury that he incurred during the one-off Test against Zimbabwe in May. Meanwhile, Tongue is also back, having participated in the first two matches of the series. Bethell, who is taking Dawson’s place, is anticipated to spearhead the spin department with assistance from Joe Root. Additionally, Jamie Overton has been included in the squad after the fourth test.
England XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c ), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue.
Speaking on the injury, Stokes said, “I’m obviously disappointed. I’ve fot a decent tear in the right shoulder. Weighing up the risk and rewards, the risk was way too high for the damage caused.
“I’ll start rehabbing now and start to focus on what we have coming up in the winter.”
England head into the final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy with a 2-1 lead in a series where the decider could ultimately prove pivotal for both teams’ World Test Championship aspirations.
