Time to roll the dice! Wasim Jaffer backs three-spinner strategy at Oval featuring Kuldeep Yadav

India are set to play the final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 at The Oval, aiming to level the five-match series 2-2 after falling behind 1-2. With injuries to key players like Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah disrupting the team’s plans, India will look to finish the tour on a high note. Former India opener Wasim Jaffer has proposed a balanced XI that emphasises batting strength and spin depth, notably including Kuldeep Yadav, who hasn’t featured in the series so far.

Jaffer’s lineup brings in Dhruv Jurel to replace the injured Pant, while the top order remains unchanged with KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, and Shubman Gill—Gill being the series' highest run-getter with 722 runs. The playing XI also features a three-man spin attack with Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Kuldeep Yadav, leaving out the option of a fourth pacer.

In Bumrah’s absence, the pace duties fall to Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, and Arshdeep Singh. Jaffer’s selection is a calculated move to reinforce control and variety, especially on a surface like The Oval. While the trophy may be out of reach, India are determined to draw the series and return home with pride intact.

All Roads Lead to Oval

India's prospects of signing off the UK tour with some serious bragging rights brightened by a few notches on the eve of fifth Test with England's talismanic skipper Ben Stokes and pacer Jofra Archer rendered unavailable for the game starting Thursday.

Stokes, the inspirational skipper who pushed the limits of his body while bowling in the last two Tests, was ruled out with a muscle tear on his right shoulder while comeback man Archer was rested after the workload of playing in back-to-back matches.

Pacer Brydon Carse and left-arm spinner Liam Dawson have also been rested.

There are players whose mere presence makes a difference and the England skipper, a world class all-rounder with 304 runs and 17 wickets in the series, is one such character.

What the English team will miss most at The Oval is his inspirational presence when the chips are down and showing the way how it is done.

Stand-in captain Ollie Pope will have his task cut out as the Indian team, even without Jasprit Bumrah, is expected to go for the kill.

The series, played in front of packed crowds, has also been a perfect advert for Test cricket with all four games stretching to the final session on day five.

Not to forget the skirmishes along the way that have spiced it up enough for the fans of the game's traditional format.

From Shubman Gill's tirade against Zak Crawley for "deliberately" wasting time at Lord's to Ravindra Jadeja refusing to call off proceedings on the final day at Old Trafford, things couldn't have gotten hotter before the series entered the final phase in sweltering London.

Gautam Gambhir, who is always up for a scrap, has only intensified it with his altercation with Oval curator Lee Fortis two days before the game.

In this backdrop, expect the series finale to go down to the wire as India under the ever-improving Gill has a chance to land a killer blow on an English team whose bowling attack will undergo a sea-change with no specialist spinner in the playing XI.

Gus Atkinson and Jamie Overton, the two Surrey players, who know The Oval track like the back of their palms, will be joining forces with Chris Woakes and Josh Tongue to make it a four-pronged attack.

With Woakes being the only bowler who has remained constant from first to fifth Test, England are giving indications of continuing with their Bazball way, having inducted a specialist heavy duty hitter in Jacob Bethell.

Excitement build as the toss is just hours away. (With inputs from Agencies)