Indian Jasprit Bumrah will not play in the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval against England, with the Indian team management deciding to rest the pacer as a precaution.

Bumrah has shown a dip in rhythm recently, and the BCCI medical team has advised against his playing. They also said precautionary measures should be taken for playing Bumrah. 

He was expected to feature in only three of the five Tests, and with appearances in the first, third, and fourth matches, the Oval Test was always uncertain for the pacer. 

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However, after India drew the fourth Test, the possibility of playing Bumrah at the Oval had increased. India is currently trailing by 2-1 in the series. 

Head coach Gautam Gambhir had said Bumrah was available. But two days later, the decision was made to leave him out.

Akash Deep, who missed the last match due to injury, is likely to come in. He bowled well in training on Tuesday and is expected to be fully fit. Akash took 10 wickets in the second Test and could play a key role again.

With Bumrah out, Mohammed Siraj will lead the pace attack. Siraj has bowled 139 overs in the series so far, more than any other Indian pacer.

Prasidh Krishna and Arshdeep Singh are in contention for the third seamer’s spot. Arshdeep, who had a hand injury, is now fit.

India are also likely to retain Shardul Thakur to strengthen the batting. That could mean another match on the sidelines for Kuldeep Yadav, especially with The Oval pitch expected to favour seam and overcast weather in the forecast.