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The Rohit Sharma-led Team India will take on England in the fifth and final Test of the five-match series, starting March 7 at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala. However, with the five-match series already in India’s pocket, the team management is mulling to give a chance to Devdutt Padikkal .
If reports are to be believed, a source had earlier informed that Padikkal will make his Test debut with KL Rahul injured and doubtful and Rajat Patidar failing to score big with the bat. “Padikkal will make his debut in Dharamsala. Rahul is unlikely to be available and the team management wants to have a look at Padikkal as it is the last international fixture before the IPL,” a source told Hindustan Times.
Moreover, this call comes after Rajat Patidar has registered below-par scores. With him scoring only 9, 5, 0, 17 and 0, Patidar has not made a good case for himself and thus is in line to make way for Padikkal in the fifth Test, which is the last international assignment ahead of IPL 2024.
With Devdutt Padikkal making his Test debut, he will become the fifth player to debut for India in the ongoing Test series against England. He will join Rajat Patidar, who made his debut in second Test of the series, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, both of whom made their international debut in third Test and Akash Deep, who was given a chance in the fourth Test.
India’s Probable Playing XI against England in fifth Test:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj.
