England Makes Four Key Changes Ahead Of Oval Test Against India; Ollie Pope To Captain

Sports News:  India vs. England Final Test: The final match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy between India and England will be played at the Oval, but before that, England has suffered a major setback. Team captain and star all-rounder Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the fifth test of the series due to a shoulder injury. Ollie Pope will take over the captaincy in Stokes' absence. The absence of Stokes, who was the Man of the Match for his brilliant all-round performance in the third and fourth tests, can be very costly for England. He has scored 304 runs so far in the series and has also been the most successful bowler with 17 wickets.

Stokes had to give up captaincy due to injury

During the fourth Test, Stokes had to bowl a long spell due to India's long batting, in which he bowled a total of 35 overs. During this, he was seen repeatedly holding his right shoulder. Talking to the media on Wednesday, Stokes said, I have a severe injury in one of my muscles, which I cannot explain properly. Obviously, we took as much time as we could to take this decision. Obviously, when you realize what you have done, there is a little bit of emotion involved in such things. It was one of those matches where the risk-reward was being assessed, and the risk was so high that it could not be harmed more than it is now. I would not expect any of my other players to be at risk of such an injury.

England's new playing XI announced

England has announced its final eleven for the last Test against India, in which major changes have been made in the bowling attack. Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, and Liam Dawson have been dropped. In their place, Jacob Bethell, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, and Josh Tongue have been included in the team.

England's playing XI

Jack Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, and Josh Tongue.

India's poor record at the Oval

Currently, England is leading 2-1 in the five-match series. It won the first Test by five wickets in Leeds and the second in a thrilling fashion at Lord's. India registered a big win of 336 runs in the Birmingham Test. India's record at the Oval ground has not been special. In the 15 matches played here so far, India has won only twice, the first in 1971 under the captaincy of Ajit Wadekar and the second in 2021 under the leadership of Virat Kohli.