England announce playing XI for 5th Test against India; Mark Wood returns for Ollie Robinson
England have named their playing XI for the fifth and final Test against India, scheduled to begin at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala on Thursday, March 7.
The visitors, who have already lost the series, are on the lookout to finish the tour on a high and gain valuable points to uplift them from the eighth position in the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) table.
Their sole change in the playing XI comes in the form of a straight swap in the pace-bowling department, with Mark Wood returning in place of Ollie Robinson.
Robinson did not bowl for England in the final innings of the fourth Test in Ranchi, and his first-innings display was also far from ideal as he finished wicketless. His biggest contribution came with the bat, scoring a valuable half-century to extend the team's first-innings total.
Wood, who has played on an alternate basis in the series so far, will relish bowling in the apparent pace-friendly conditions in Dharamshala. He returned figures of 1-29 off 10 overs when England faced Bangladesh at the picturesque venue during the league stage of the 2023 ODI World Cup.
With only Dan Lawrence available on the bench, as far as batting options are concerned, England have not made any changes on that front. Joe Root found form back with a ton in the fourth Test, while Jonny Bairstow is also all set to make his 100th Test match appearance.
Veteran James Anderson is also on the cusp of reaching the 700-wicket milestone and could make history in what could be his final appearance in the subcontinent.
It is to be noted that Rehan Ahmed withdrew from the squad before the fourth Test due to personal reasons. Since the visitors did not opt to seek a replacement player, they are left with the same finger-spinner combination of Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley for the series finale.
Pacer Gus Atkinson ends the tour without any appearances to his name as well, with England opting to play with two spinners to conclude the series.
"The individuals and the team have massively evolved on this tour" - England skipper Ben Stokes
England, much like during the 2021 tour of India, began the series with a win to claim an early lead in the proceedings.
Although the visitors have had their moments, it has been the Men in Blue who have reigned supreme to secure three wins on the trot to seal their comeback and prolong their winning streak on home turf.
"Just because the scoreline at the moment reads 3-1, it doesn't mean that we've gone backwards. There are lots of these things that we have massively progressed on as a team whilst out on this tour. The individuals and the team have massively evolved on this tour," Stokes said ahead of the final Test.
"The way in which everyone committed to becoming a better version of themselves from when we last played was quite obvious; everyone's fitter and it was just a really different feel around how we operated from the summer before," he added.
England playing XI for the fifth Test against India
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson.