Former Indian all-rounder Sanjay Bangar has picked India’s playing XI for the fifth Test match against England. Bangar backed the inclusion of Jasprit Bumrah in the team. Bumrah has already played three out of the four Test matches so far and thus his inclusion is doubtful for the final game.
Bangar highlighted that India’s batting order has been in good form in the ongoing series and thus an extra batter is not needed at number eight. Dhruv Jurel is all set to replace injured Rishabh Pant as the wicket-keeper bat.
“Out of the seven batters that may potentially bat at the Oval in the top seven, five have got hundreds. So do you really require another batter batting at No. 8? I don’t think that is needed at the moment. The second-most important conversation would be to see where Jasprit Bumrah is,” Sanjay Bangar said on Star Sports show Game Plan.
The former Indian batting coach said Bumrah should be part of the playing XI in the series decider.
“If you think of how Jasprit Bumrah bowled in the last Test match, he certainly extended his length of spells. When he had a bit of a niggle, he still came back and bowled. So he doesn’t seem to be in any sort of discomfort, at least from a distance. So make him play because this is a must-win Test match for India,” Bangar reasoned.
The former Indian opener feels Akash Deep will replace rookie pacer Anshul Kamboj whereas Kuldeep should play ahead of Shardul Thakur.
“That would sort a lot of the issues as far as bowling is concerned because (Mohammed) Siraj is anyway going to play. Maybe Anshul may miss out, and Akash Deep might just come back in. So one spot remains. Whether Shardul Thakur plays or there is a place for Kuldeep Yadav, I would be tempted to go with Kuldeep Yadav,” he observed.
Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja has been in tremendous form in the ongoing series as he has aggregated 454 runs in four Test matches at an average of 113.50. Bangar said Jadeja can play purely as a batter in India’s Test team and can bat at number five.
“If he has scored close to 500 runs and batted 900 balls in the series, at the moment, let’s just think that whatever he gives with the ball is a bonus. He can clearly play as a batter in this team and maybe bat at No. 5 as well,” he responded.
The fifth and final Test match between England and India will be played at the Kennington Oval, London, from 31st July onwards.
Sanjay Bangar’s Indian XI for fifth Test: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
