"Cannot make same mistake with the series on the line" - Former England captain warns Team India ahead of ENG vs IND 5th Test 2025

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has pointed out the selection errors by Team India after they clung on to a draw on Day 5 (Sunday, July 27) of the fourth Test at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester. The 50-year-old added that the visitors must convince Jasprit Bumrah to play the final Test at The Oval, with England leading the series 2-1.

Before the series began, Team India's head coach Gautam Gambhir had said that Bumrah would play only three Tests. The pace spearhead has already fulfilled it. The 31-year-old didn't look at his best in Manchester, claiming only one wicket in 33 overs and has already sent down 119.4 in the series, raising fitness concerns.

In his column for The Telegraph, Vaughan wrote:

"They got their selection wrong again, but cannot make the same mistake with the series on the line at the Oval. Can they convince Bumrah to play one more game? Surely they have to."

Nevertheless, the 2005 Ashes-winning captain was all praise for India, given the ability they displayed to bat out of their skins and produce highly-skilled players consistently.

"It should be said that India were magnificent in the third innings. Rahul and Shubman Gill laid the platform and the all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. They showed once again that they are a team that does not give up, and they have highly skilled players. Their task to save the draw was so much tougher than England’s at Edgbaston, yet they managed it," he added.

After Yashasvi Jaiswal and B Sai Sudharsan perished in back-to-back deliveries on Day 4, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill dug in for a 188-run partnership. While Gill made 103, Rahul fell 10 runs short of the three-figure mark. But Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar ensured that the top-order's efforts didn't go to waste as they struck unbeaten centuries to deny the hosts a win.

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"If he's not fit to play, not playing is the right decision" - Ex-England captain on Jasprit Bumrah

Sir Alastair Cook. (Image Credits: Getty)

Another former England skipper, Sir Alastair Cook, opined that Team India should keep their cards close on Bumrah's availability for the final Test. He told the BBC Test Match Special:

"Even if he isn't going to play, you wouldn't tell people now, just on a purely tactical basis. They made a mistake at the beginning of the series saying he could only play three, because you get thrown into a situation like now where the series is still on the line. If he's not fit to play, not playing is the right decision."

The fifth and final Test begins on July 31 at The Oval.