New Delhi: New Delhi: India vs England 4th Test of the five-match Test series is being played at The Oval in London. England won the toss and invited India to bat first. Both teams have made two changes in their playing XI for Ind vs Eng Oval Test. India's duo of Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma have not been included in the playing XI for 4th Test. In their place, Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur have been given a chance in India's playing XI. On the other hand, England have included Ollie Pope and Chris Woakes in their playing XI, in place of Jos Buttler and Sam Curran.
Meanwhile, ex-England skipper Michael Vaughan on Thursday took to Twitter to slam Indian team management's decision to bench veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin again for India vs England 4th Test, calling it "madness". Ashwin, one of the most experienced and decorated spinners of the world, has not been included in India's playing XI for any of the four Tests against England.
Checkout Vaughan's Tweet:
Vaughan tweeted: “The non selection of @ashwinravi99 has to be greatest NON selection we have ever witnessed across 4 Tests in the UK !!! 413 Test wickets & 5 Test 100s !!!! #ENGvIND Madness …”
After losing the toss, Virat Kohli said, "If we had won the toss, we would have bowled first, but the toss is not something that you can control. We need to be prepared for both. We are excited to get runs on the board."
India vs England 1st Test ended in a draw, after which the visitors registered a solid 156-run win at the iconic Lord's stadium to take 1-0 lead in the series. The third Test of the series was played at the Headingley Ground in Leeds, where England made a strong comeback with an innings and 176-run win to level the series 1–1.
India's playing XI for 4th Test: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj.
England's playing XI for 4th Test: Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, David Malan, Joe Root (c), Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Craig Overton, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson.