India batting coach says Bumrah is fit, but report claims pacer out of fifth Test; Arshdeep Singh to debut

India are set to be without Jasprit Bumrah in the fifth and final Test against England as the BCCI medical team has advised against playing the star pacer in the match at The Oval. The decision reportedly was taken with an eye on the long-term fitness of the 31-year-old pacer.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir had announced even before leaving for England that Bumrah would only play three out of the five Test matches. However, it was felt that the senior pacer may feature in his fourth match of the series at The Oval as India are still trailing 2-1 in the series.

Conflicting signs emerge over Bumrah’s availability

But a report in the ESPNCricinfo on Tuesday has stated that Bumrah will not play in the final Test match. The BCCI medical team wants to carefully manage Bumrah’s workload as he recently had a back surgery. The decision not to play Bumrah in the must-win match was taken in consultation with the pacer, the team management and the selectors.

It has to be noted that Indian batting coach Sitanshu Kotak had only confirmed on Tuesday that Bumrah was fit to

“Bumrah is fit now according to his load. He bowled one inning in the last match. So obviously the head coach, our physio and captain will have a discussion and decide. There has been no discussion,” Kotak said in a press conference on Tuesday.

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Meanwhile, The Times of India reports that Arshdeep Singh is set to make his Test debut in the final Test. He could be replacing Anshul Kamboj, who had a poor debut in the fourth Test at Manchester. With Arshdeep’s inclusion, India will be able to add the variety of a left-arm pacer to their attack.

Bumrah is expected to make way for Akash Deep, who missed the fourth Test after suffering a back issue during the third Test match at Lord’s.

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So far, Bumrah had missed only one match, the second Test at Edgbaston, which India won by 336 runs.