IND vs ENG | Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur find place in XI for 4th Test, Ashwin ignored again

09/02/2021

Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur have been included in India's playing XI for the fourth Test at The Oval on Thursday. At toss, Virat Kohli revealed that Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami had niggles ahead of the match. Furthermore, Ravichandran Ashwin again failed to find a place in the eleven.

The wait for off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin continued as India went ahead with only one spinner again in the form of Ravindra Jadeja for the fourth Test at The Oval on Thursday.

India made only two changes in their playing eleven as pacers Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur were brought in place of Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami. Both the senior pacers were had niggles and thus were replaced according to captain Virat Kohli.

Notably, Ashwin had played a county match on the same ground for Surrey ahead of the 5-Test series against England and returned with figures of 6 for 27 in the second innings. Ashwin last played for India in the World Test Championship (WTC) final vs New Zealand at Southampton.

Talking about the team combination and changes, Virat Kohli said, "Two changes - Ishant and Shami have niggles - Umesh and Shardul are back. For us, it's about partnerships, we can't focus too much on individuals. The opening partnerships have been good, it's about getting more partnerships. We got a few days left on this tour, the series is poised nicely and there is going to be no shortage of effort from our side."

The series is currently levelled at 1-1 and England have asked India to bat first after winning the toss.