Bumrah not ruled out for final Test, Overton added to England squad

India head coach Gautam Gambhir said they had not ruled out playing pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in the final Test against England at the Oval this week as they look to avoid a series defeat.

Bumrah has already played three Tests in the series, the maximum workload team management had targeted for the bowler after he spent three months on the sidelines with a back injury before returning to action in April.

India snatched an unlikely draw in the fourth test at Old Trafford on Sunday but trail the hosts 2-1 in the five-match series.

“We haven’t had any conversation around the combination for the last test,” Gambhir said.

“No decision has been made on whether Jasprit Bumrah will play or not. Ultimately, whoever plays, they will try and do the job for the country.”

India captain Shubman Gill suggested it might be left up to Bumrah to make the call.

“If he feels like he’s fully fit and available for us, I think it would be a great deal for us,” Gill told the BBC.

India went into the fourth test with a depleted bowling attack having rested the injured pace duo of Akash Deep (groin) and Arshdeep Singh (hand).

Bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy had already returned home after a knee injury cut short his tour.

Anshul Kamboj made his test debut in Manchester but Gambhir said they would have a full set of fit bowlers at their disposal for the test at the Oval, which begins on Thursday.

“All the fast bowlers are fit,” Gambhir said. “There are no injury concerns.”

However, India will be without stumper-batter Rishabh Pant, who has been ruled out of the series finale after fracturing his foot while batting in India’s first innings in Manchester.

Meanwhile, England have added fast-bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton to their squad for this week’s decisive fifth Test against India at the Oval.

The return of the Surrey paceman is the only change to the group from Old Trafford, where India on Sunday escaped with a draw after batting for five sessions and 143 overs.

Ben Stokes’ men had been in pole position to move into an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series after taking a first-innings lead of 311.

But they were only able to take four wickets in India’s second innings, even though Chris Woakes struck twice in the first over.

Stokes hinted “fresh legs” might be needed among the bowlers for the fifth Test, which starts on Thursday.

Woakes and Brydon Carse have both played all four matches so far while Jofra Archer has featured in back-to-back Tests following a four-year absence.

Stokes considers himself “very unlikely” to miss out despite struggling with various injuries at Old Trafford but the tight turnaround means changes seem likely.

Overton, who won his only Test cap in 2022, joins fellow seamers Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue in a 15-man squad pushing for a spot in the starting eleven.

Tongue featured in the first two Tests of the series and took 11 wickets but was expensive, while Atkinson has not played a first-class match since England’s win against Zimbabwe in May.

Liam Dawson looks set to be retained as England’s frontline spinner despite taking just one wicket in Manchester across two innings.

India on Monday lauded their cricketers for pulling off a “draw that feels like a win” in the fourth Test against England to keep the series alive.

India, 2-1 down in the five-match series and a daunting 311 runs behind on first innings, batted out Sunday’s final day to take it to a decider at the Oval, starting Thursday.

Captain Shubman Gill struck his fourth century of the series before unbeaten hundreds from Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar denied England victory. KL Rahul also scored 90.

It was a remarkable fightback after India had lost their first two second-innings wickets without a run on the board on Saturday.

“When it comes to India-England, Old Trafford is known for keeping the series alive,” India great Sachin Tendulkar posted on X.

It was a “fantastic comeback” said Tendulkar who added that Rahul, Gill, Jadeja and Sundar had shown “great character and fighting spirit”.

The Times of India headlined with “The draw that feels like a win”, while espncricinfo.com said it had been a “great escape”.

Agencies