Jasprit Bumrah has been released from India’s squad for the ongoing fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval, London, the BCCI confirmed on Friday. This was a pre-planned move as part of India’s workload management policy. Head coach Gautam Gambhir had stated before the series began that Bumrah would play only three of the five Tests. The fast bowler featured in the first, third and fourth Tests, and sat out the second and now the final match. He ends his campaign with 14 wickets at an average of 26. India’s updated squad includes: Shubman Gill (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj, Arshdeep Singh, and N Jagadeesan (wk).
On the field, India endured a testing first day in overcast and seaming conditions. They finished on 204 for 6 in 64 overs after rain curtailed two sessions. Karun Nair, brought back into the side after being dropped for the fourth Test, stood firm with an unbeaten 52. His knock came under immense pressure and on a pitch that offered significant help to England’s pacers. Washington Sundar (19*) was alongside Nair at stumps, steadying the innings after India lost three wickets in the final session. Earlier in the day, Yashasvi Jaiswal (2) and KL Rahul (14) fell early, while Gill was run out for 21 after a mix-up. Still, the Indian captain made history by overtaking Sunil Gavaskar’s record of 732 runs in a single Test series by an Indian captain. Gill now has 733 runs with one innings left to play. Sai Sudharsan, playing just his second Test, looked composed for his 38 but edged one that moved away from Josh Tongue. Ravindra Jadeja also fell to Tongue, nicking off for 9. Gus Atkinson, playing his first Test of the series, impressed with the ball and picked up two wickets. England, however, suffered a blow late in the day as Chris Woakes walked off the field clutching his shoulder after a fielding attempt, making his participation for the rest of the Test uncertain. With the series tied at 2-2, this final match remains finely balanced, and much will depend on how India’s lower order bats on Day 2.
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