Heading into the crucial fifth and final Test match of the series against England, which will get underway at The Oval on Thursday, India are looking for the most ideal playing 11 with the right bowling combination which can square the series with a much-needed win.
India's inclination to bat till number eight at the expense of a specialist bowler has been constantly questioned, especially after Shardul Thakur, who replaced the injured Nitish Reddy, was used for only 11 overs at Old Trafford.
But with India conceding more than 600 runs for the first time since 2014 at Old Trafford, the attention has shifted to wicket-takers like Kuldeep Yadav, who is still waiting for his chance in this series. After a forgettable debut, Anshul Kamboj is likely to make way for either Akash Deep or Prasidh Krishna. Arshdeep Singh, who has recovered from a hand injury, would also be fancying a Test debut.
Though head coach Gautam Gambhir declared all the fast bowlers fit after the draw on Sunday, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj are part of the tiring bunch on either side of the dressing room. Considering that Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja showed remarkable grit to bat out more than two sessions to save the game, completing fine hundreds in the process, the same template is likely to be followed at The Oval. In that case, Dhruv Jurel will come in to bat number seven and India can play four specialist bowlers by showing Shardul the door. The fourth bowler could well be Kuldeep.
By its own admission, the Indian team management has been consciously trying to accommodate Kuldeep into the playing 11, but the strategy of batting till eight has come in the way. "We are trying to find a way for him, but it is just that we need more consistent runs from our top six so that we can bring a guy like Kuldeep in,” said India bowling coach Morne Morkel during the fourth Test. Kuldeep is world-class and he's bowling really well at the moment, so we're trying our best to find ways for him to get in, he added.
Test veteran R Ashwin said he failed to understand India’s obsession of batting till eight for a few extra runs when a strike bowler like Kuldeep can allow them to play with fewer runs. He had vouched for Kuldeep in Manchester too.
Bumrah has already played three Tests, but with the series in a crucial stage, he could turn up at The Oval and so could Mohammed Siraj. “On these wickets, you do not know what sort of a start you are going to get. So when you pick a team, I think you will try and pick a balanced team,” said India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak recently, when asked about playing an extra bowler over an all-rounder.
Meanwhile, England has recalled all-rounder Jamie Overton, who played the only Test match of his career back in 2022, to the 15-member squad for the fifth Test. The 31-year-old Surrey all-rounder, who played three games for Chennai Super Kings in the last edition of IPL, had taken two wickets and scored 97 against New Zealand at Leeds in 2022.
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