Jos Buttler and Jack Leach have been recalled to England’s team for the final Test against India at Manchester’s Emirates Old Trafford.
Buttler was absent from the fourth Test due to the birth of his second kid.
Leach was a member of England’s team for the first two Tests, but he chose to play for Somerset after being left out of the Playing XI.
Buttler will take the place of either Bairstow or Pope
Buttler has been England’s first-choice wicketkeeper in Test cricket for almost a year.
For the last Test, he is anticipated to replace either Jonny Bairstow or Ollie Pope.
Bairstow has 184 runs in seven innings with a batting average of 26.29.
In the second innings at The Oval, he was out for a duck.
Meanwhile, Pope wowed the crowd with an 81-run first-inning home run.
Here’s what England coach Chris Silverwood had to say about it
“Jos will be available for Old Trafford and yes there will be a decision that has to be made, so we’ll be making that over the next few days,” England head coach Chris Silverwood stated.
“I’m going to keep my thoughts to myself for the moment, I’m going to have a sleep on it and then I can obviously make decisions from there.”
Leach may cause problems for the Indian hitters in Manchester
Given the conditions in Manchester, Leach may be put into the starting XI right away.
Spinners are very successful at Old Trafford.
During the final few days of the Test, the left-arm spinner might pose a threat to the Indian batsmen.
Earlier this year, Leach was England’s highest wicket-taker on a visit to India.
He’s also a capable lower-order hitter.
Will Mark Wood be back?
Throughout the series, fast bowlers James Anderson and Ollie Robinson have been in charge.
It will be fascinating to see if Anderson takes part in the final Test. On Day 5 at The Oval, he appeared exhausted.
The pair has bowled to almost 2,000 deliveries (together).
Mark Wood, who missed the fourth Test, might make a comeback, according to Silverwood.
England’s fifth Test squad
Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood are the England team for the fifth Test.
India has a 2-1 advantage in the five-match series
After a historic victory at The Oval, India now leads the five-match Test series 2-1.
On the last day, they successfully protected 367 runs.
The visitors won their second Test match at The Oval.
India had previously won the Lord’s Test before England responded at Headingley.
The two teams will now square off in the Manchester Test, which begins on September 10.