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MANCHESTER: India head coach Gautam Gambhir remained tight-lipped over the inclusion of Jasprit Bumrah for the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England, scheduled to begin on July 31 at The Oval.
With England leading the five-match series 2-1, India will head into the decider aiming to level the series, following a gritty draw in the fourth Test where the visitors batted out five sessions under pressure.
There had been concerns around Bumrah’s workload heading into the final leg of the series, especially given his central role across formats.
But Gautam Gambhir confirmed that the pace spearhead, along with the rest of the fast bowlers, is fully fit.
“All the fast bowlers are fit. There are no injury concerns,” Gambhir stated during the post-match press conference.
However, he remained non-committal when asked if the management would stick to the original workload management plan or reconsider given the series situation.
“We haven’t had any conversation around the combination for the last Test. 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,” he added.
Reflecting on the drawn fourth Test, Gambhir lauded the team’s fight but made it clear that results remain the ultimate benchmark.
“You are asking someone who only believes in results. We are still 2-1 down in the series,” he said.
“Yes, there is inexperience, but this is still the best Indian team right now. Hopefully, we can make it 2-2. That’s going to be a good achievement.”
He credited the batting unit for showing character under pressure and backed his side to bring the fight to The Oval.
“Batting for five sessions after being put under pressure shows great character. Going into The Oval, we’ll take a lot of confidence,” he concluded.
India squad for fifth England Test
Shubman Gill (c), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Narayan Jagadeesan (wk), Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Anshul Kamboj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur
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