Rehan Ahmed set to leave for England due to an urgent family matter; will not return for the 5th Test

England spinner Rehan Ahmed will not be involved with the team even from the sidelines during the fourth Test against India in Ranchi, as he will return home to deal with an urgent family matter on Friday, February 23.

For the do-or-die contest, England decided to replace Ahmed with fellow spinner Shoaib Bashir in the playing XI, according to an official release by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Thursday, February 22. The wrist-spinner apparently learned about the situation at home after his exclusion from the playing XI, and as a result, asked to be recused from the proceedings.

England cricket have also put out an official statement which mentions that Rehan Ahmed will not be partaking in the remainder of the series. The visitors will not be naming a replacement candidate for the final Test in Dharamshala.

Rehan Ahmed, the senior-most member of the spin department in Jack Leach's absence, had played in all three matches of the series so far. He had claimed 11 wickets and chipped in with a few runs down the order as well. The bowler faced visa issues ahead of the third Test in Rajkot, but the issue was seemingly sorted out briskly.

Before the start of the series, batter Harry Brook had also withdrawn, citing personal reasons. In the Indian camp, ace batter Virat Kohli skipped the series to attend the birth of his second child.

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England look to conjure historic series comeback in Rehan Ahmed's absence

Ben Stokes and company will have to come up with something special to overturn the 1-2 deficit in the series, with two matches remaining.

England have won the toss in Ranchi and have elected to bat first, with some major changes to their bowling unit. Apart from the above-mentioned change involving Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir, the visitors have also handed Ollie Robinson his first match in the series as he replaces Mark Wood.

"We will bat first. Obviously, going 2-1 down in the series, there is enough importance to this Test match. I feel there will be some assistance to the pacers in the first hour and we have to adapt to the conditions. The bowling has been coming on good. There is a schedule and a lot of work to be put in to get ready. We have been given opportunities throughout the series. But I’m really happy with how we have operated throughout the series. We've got a couple of changes as Shoaib Bashir and Ollie Robinson come into the squad," Stokes said during the toss in Ranchi.

India XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Ravindra Jadeja, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj

England XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root (c), Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Ollie Robinson, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson