 "Jasprit Bumrah, Rajat Patidar, KL Rahul")
With the series in the bag, the limelight shifts again to what will be India's Playing 11 for the fifth and final Test at HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala. There are chances for KL Rahul's return to India's XI in the third Test only, but he failed to recover, and now it has been learned that the Karnataka batter has been shifted to London for expert opinion.
The extent of Kl Rahul's injury is still unclear. However, he shared a video of himself batting in the nets after being named to the squad ahead of the third test. But he was eventually ruled out.
Rahul complained of pain in his right quadriceps after the first Test. He was rested for the second Test.
BCCI would not want to risk Rahul, given he provides stability to India's white-ball cricket with a dual role. He has to lead the Lucknow Super Giants in a few weeks.
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Rajat Patidar runs during India vs England Test series
In Rahul's absence, Rajat Patidar got the chance to fill in, but the Madhya Pradesh batter failed to impress with his soft dismissals.
In the four matches, Patidar managed to have two ducks and one thirty-plus score, accumulating a total of 63 runs in six innings.
However, as the news is pouring in, he might get one more chance that the management might rest one batter. In that case, Devdiutt Padikkal can also get a chance in India's Playing 11 for the 5th Test.
Should India pick Jasprit Bumrah for the fifth Test?
Bumrah bowled 80.2 overs, and after missing the Ranchi Test, he is the second-highest wicket-taker in the series. The conditions in Dharamsala might tempt Rohit Sharma to play him.
| Top 10 highest wicket-taker during India vs England Test series 2024 | |||||||||
| Player | Matches | Overs | Balls | Wkts | Avg | Runs | 4-fers | 5-fers | |
| 1 | Tom Hartley | 4 | 211.4 | 1270 | 20 | 33.45 | 669 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Jasprit Bumrah | 3 | 80.5 | 485 | 17 | 13.65 | 232 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Ravindra Jadeja | 3 | 127.3 | 765 | 17 | 25.53 | 434 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Ravichandran Ashwin | 4 | 130.5 | 785 | 17 | 30.41 | 517 | - | 1 |
| 5 | Kuldeep Yadav | 3 | 85 | 510 | 12 | 22.58 | 271 | 1 | - |
| 6 | Shoaib Bashir | 2 | 123 | 738 | 12 | 32.83 | 394 | - | 1 |
| 7 | Rehan Ahmed | 3 | 118.3 | 711 | 11 | 44 | 484 | - | - |
| 8 | James Anderson | 3 | 94 | 564 | 8 | 34.38 | 275 | - | - |
| 9 | Joe Root | 4 | 115 | 690 | 8 | 50 | 400 | 1 | - |
| 10 | Mohammed Siraj | 3 | 58.1 | 349 | 6 | 40.67 | 244 | 1 | - |
But Bumrah is expected to play all four games for Mumbai in IPL 2024 and will be India's premier bowler in the ICC T20 World Cup the management might not want to risk him.
When will the Indian team reach Dharamsala?
BCCI has asked players to assemble in Chandigarh on March 2. India team and England will head to Dharamsala from Chandigarh on or after March 2.
