KL Rahul ruled out, Jasprit Bumrah returns as BCCI announces India's squad for fifth Test

The BCCI, on Thursday (February 29), announced India’s updated squad for the fifth and final Test of the ongoing series against England. The forthcoming Test is scheduled to be played from March 7 in Dharamsala.

KL Rahul has been ruled out of the fifth Test as well after failing to regain full fitness. The right-handed batsman has been sidelined since suffering a quadricep strain during the first Test in Hyderabad last month. While he was named in the squad for the final three Tests, the BCCI stated that his participation was subject to witness. The BCCI also confirmed that the batsman has traveled to London to consult a specialist.

“The BCCI Medical Team is closely monitoring him and coordinating with specialists in London for further management of his issue,” the BCCI stated.

India squad for the fifth Test:

In another update, the BCCI announced that fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will link up with the team for the fifth Test after being rested for the fourth Test. Bumrah traveled to Ahmedabad after the third Test in Rajkot while the rest of the team traveled to Ranchi for the fourth Test. He will now join the squad in Dharamsala for the final game.

The right-arm pacer is currently India’s leading wicket-taker in the series with 17 wickets. Only Tom Hartley has more wickets than him in the series. The BCCI also announced that allrounder Washington Sundar has been released from the squad.

Sundar will join the Tamil Nadu side for their Ranji trophy semifinal fixture against Mumbai, starting March 2nd. The Tamil Nadu star will join the India squad after the completion of the Ranji fixture for the fifth Test if need be.

Meanwhile, India have already sealed the five-match series with a match to go. They are currently leading the series 3-1 and will be aiming to extend their winning run. A win in Dharamsala will further strengthen their position in the World Test Championship points table.

India’s updated squad for the 5th Test:

Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Devdutt Padikkal, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.