England v India, 5th Test: India's probable playing XI

India head into the final Test at Kia Oval with the series already lost. They would look to make amends for the lapses they made at Southampton and wish to end the series on a winning note. Kohli has problems in galore and he would look to sort it out before the first ball is bowled in the Oval.

The opening order has been an Achilles heel for either team but the English lower order has made up for the glaring problem at the top. India has not been lucky in that regard as their lower order has been almost absent in terms scoring runs is concerned.

Ashwin seems not fully fit and this impacted India in the fourth Test. Rishabh Pant promised a lot but he looked half-baked for Test cricket. Maybe, it should be the right time to switch back to the experience of Karthik. Pandya has had his share of glory at Trent Bridge. Fortunately, Indian pace trio has been good enough so they can go in with an extra batsman in place of Pandya.

Let us look at the probable playing eleven for the fifth Test.

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Prithvi Shaw

After the dismal performance of the Indian openers in the fourth Test, Kohli is certain to make a change at the top. Prithvi Shaw might make his debut at the Oval. This stylish batsman from Delhi, though just 19 years of age, is already leaving a mark on the domestic circuit. Shaw has an average of 56 in his short first-class career spanning 14 matches. The likely batsmen to face an axe would be Shikhar Dhawan.

KL Rahul

Rahul might retain his place

KL Rahul has the talent but somehow he has not able to covert it into performance in the current Test series. He has shown shades of what he is capable of in the third Test. His discomfort with the incoming ball came to the fore again in the last Test. Surprisingly, the team management has not been able to rectify this chunk in his armour.

Rahul might still be able to retain his place in the fifth Test owing to his outstanding catching in the slip cordon. With slip catching a bane of India since long, India would not look to disturb the slip cordon by dropping Rahul.

Cheteshwar Pujara

Pujara was in terrific form in the fourth test

The middle-order for the first time in the series looks settled with the likes of Pujara, Kohli and Rahane.

Pujara has been in terrific form in the last two Tests. At Trent Bridge, he scored 72 in the second innings and was involved in a 100 plus partnership with Kohli to ascertain a win for India. He continued his dominant display with the bat in the fourth Test where he scored an unbeaten 132 runs which earned India a considerable lead of 24 runs in the first innings.

Virat Kohli

Kohli has been in ominous form

The Indian skipper has been in ominous form in this series and has already amassed in excess of 500 runs in this series. He looked in deft touch even on a difficult fourth-day pitch in the last Test. India was always in the game until the time Kohli was around.

The No.1 test batsman is an important cog in the Indian batting line-up and he needs to score big if India wants to win the final Test.

Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane needs to score a big hundred

The Indian vice-captain has been involved in a couple of century partnerships with Kohli. At Trent Bridge, his partnership of 159 runs resulted in a mammoth lead for the Indians in the first innings. At Southampton, while chasing a target of 245 runs on a difficult fourth-day pitch, Rahane was involved in a partnership of 101 runs with the Indian captain. This deflated the English attack and it looked as if India were on course of a famous win.

Rahane has a couple of centuries against his name in this series. India would want him to convert his fifties into big hundreds for India to stand any chance in the fifth Test.

Karun Nair

Karun Nair

Kohli should bring in Nair in place of Pandya to strengthen his lower middle-order. Pandya has been average with the bat and has been sparsely used as a bowler in the last Test.

Nair needs no introduction as he is only the second Indian batsman to score a triple century in Tests after Virender Sehwag. He is an elegant stroke-maker and a gritty middle order batsman. Nair should feel at home in English conditions as he was captain of the India A side which was on a month-long tour to England in July.

Dinesh Karthik

Karthik deserves another chance

Dinesh Karthik is too good a batsman to be kept out of the playing eleven for long. He has a wealth of experience by his side. Moreover, with the experiment of playing Pant having failed miserably, India should revert to the old war-horse Karthik.

He can also be used as an opener and Rahul be shifted to the middle-order.

Ravindra Jadeja

Jadeja in as the spinner

With Ashwin carrying an injury, India should not risk playing him in the fifth Test. Jadeja should play the role of the lone spinner in absence of Ashwin.

Apart from his left-arm spin, he can also contribute with the bat in the lower middle-order.

Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah

Bumrah has been a revelation for India in the current series. He has generated a good amount of space and troubled the English batsmen with the new ball.

Mohammad Shami

Shami has improved with the series

Shami has been phenomenal with the old and new ball alike. His ability to move the ball both ways has made him indispensable for the Indian pace attack.

Ishant Sharma

Ishant Sharma

A late bloomer in Tests, Ishant has been in bowling form of his life. He has accounted for a number of English left-handers with his ball shaping away. Ishant has shown his experience count in English conditions and guided the inexperienced Indian pace attack