England vs India, 5th Test: James Vince Ruled Out, Openers Retain Their Place

England has announced the 13-member squad for the fifth and the final Test against India and has left out James Vince for the fifth Test. He was brought in as a cover for Jonny Bairstow, who had fractured his finger in the third Test at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

Stalwart Alastair Cook had announced retirement from international cricket but will walk off only after playing the final Test. He will open yet another time with Keaton Jennings. Cook will be playing his 161^st and final Test match of his remarkable career.

Meanwhile coming back to Vince, he was not part of the original squad which was initially selected for the series against India.

However after Bairstow was injured, Vince was brought in as a cover. He is a solid middle-order batsman and received a call-up to the national squad again after consistent performances in the domestic circuit.

England might be keen to experiment in the fifth Test with the series already in the pocket:

With the series already pocketed, they might look to experiment ahead of the winter tour of Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, Ollie Pope who played in Lord’s and Trent Bridge has been included in the squad. Pope missed out on the Test at Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

England might drop Adil Rashid and include Ollie Pope for the final Test:

It would be interesting to see whether England decides to drop Rashid. He hasn’t quite impressed in the series so far. Hence he might be dropped in favour of an extra batsman.

In that case, Pope can also return to the XI for the final Test. Meanwhile Moeen Ali whose promotion to number three spot was termed as a tactical move. Well, the English team might also retain his place there.

It will also allow skipper Joe Root to bat at his preferred number four position. It would also help Bairstow bat lower down the order where he is somewhat comfortable to bat. After the penultimate Test, English coach Trevor Bayliss revealed that he wasn’t sure whether James Anderson and Stuart Broad would have been fit for the final Test.

However, as it looks now, both of them will be raring to go and seal a 4-1 series victory.

Chris Woakes has also retained his place in the squad after missing out in the 4^th Test because of a quad injury. He will be accessed in the lead up to the game. He made a match-winning contribution in Lord’s But after consistent performances from Sam Curran it will be interesting to see England’s combination if Waokes is fit.

Meanwhile, Ben Stokes might also miss out after the knee injury which restricted his bowling in the fourth Test.

England vs India: Three Lions Test squad: James Vince misses out –

Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes