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.

Prithvi Shaw

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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

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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.