India's Playing XI, 5th Test: With Bold Karun Nair Call, Gautam Gambhir Likely To Make 4 Changes
According to a report in Indian Express, Karun Nair is expected to return to the team for the final match of the series after being dropped from the Manchester Test. Nair's inclusion, however, will come in place of an all-rounder, Shardul Thakur. It was B Sai Sudharsan who had replaced Nair in the 4th Test over poor form. But, the team looks set to trust the veteran batter one more time.
Jasprit Bumrah and Anshul Kamboj are both likely to make way, with Akash Deep set to return to the playing XI. In place of Kamboj, the Indian team has to pick one pacer between Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna, which is truly a tough call to make.
As per the report, both Arshdeep and Kuldeep Yadav are expected to be snubbed again, with the management persisting with the spin-bowling combination of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. Valuing the quality they both bring with the bat, Gambhir and Gill have managed to evade the temptation of adding Kuldeep, a pure spinner, to the playing XI.
Hence, a total of 4 changes are expected to be made in the Indian team for the 5th Test.
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