The visitors aim to win the series. India leads the series 2-1 after the first four matches. England is not thinking of anything other than a win to avoid a series loss. The last Test of the longest Test series in the history of cricket will begin at 3:30 pm Bangladesh time on Friday (July 1).

While the first Test of the India-England series in Nottingham was drawn, India won the second match at Lord’s by a huge margin of 151 runs. England won the third Test at Leeds by an innings and 76 runs to level the series. India won the fourth Test at the Oval by 157 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

However, the match was postponed the day before the start of the fifth and final Test in Manchester. The Manchester Test was called off due to the increase in the incidence in the India camp.

There was no way to cancel the last match as the series was part of the World Test Championship. So after a long break, the Test is going to be played on Friday. But even before this match, there is a corona scare in the India camp. Rohit is in isolation after being infected with corona for the second time. India will be led by vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah instead.

Bumrah will be India’s 36th Test captain. He has the experience of playing 29 Tests. With Lokesh Rahul also injured, India is giving Bumrah the responsibility.

Speaking to PTI on behalf of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), an official said, “Rohit will not be able to play the Test starting on Friday. Once again, his corona test result has come positive. Rohit is still in isolation. Lokesh Rahul is missing from injury. So Burmah, who is the vice-captain, will lead the team. ’
Mayank Agarwal has already been called up to the Test squad as Rohit has been infected with corona. However, wicketkeeper-batters Sreekar Bharat and Cheteshwar Pujara are also being considered openers.

A lot has changed in the India-England fourth and fifth test teams. In the span of 297 days, the coach-captain has changed.

Virat Kohli had led India in the previous four Tests. Kohli stepped down from the Test captaincy after the tour of South Africa this year. Rahul Dravid took over as coach in place of Ravi Shastri. England will also play the fifth and final Test of the series with a new captain-coach. Joe Root had led the team in the previous four Tests. England will now play under Ben Stokes. Former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum will lead the way as coach in place of Chris Silverwood.

The England team:
Ben Stokes (captain), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Stuart Broad, Harry Brooke, Jack Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Matthew Potts, Ollie Pope, and Joe Root.

The Indian team:
Jasprit Bumrah (captain), Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), KS Bharat (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, and Prasidh Krishna.