Former India player turned commentator Sanjay Bangar has said that he would want Kuldeep Yadav to be a part of the Indian playing XI for the fifth Test against England. However, he also added that Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir are unlikely to change in their squad as well. Notably, the fifth and final Test will be played at The Oval from Thursday, July 31, onwards.

During an interaction on the Star Sports show ‘Follow the Blues,’ Bangar said, “I would certainly want him to be part of the squad, but whatever little footage that we saw of the pitch, there was a lot of grass cover. Because of that, no matter how much we want Kuldeep Yadav to play in the team, ultimately, they will decide in Shardul Thakur’s favor. Thus far, they have played the entire series with that formula only, and Gill and Gambhir will try to play with that formula only tomorrow (Thursday).”

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Meanwhile, Sanjay Bangar also opined on India’s potential seam-bowling attack for the final Test, where Jasprit Bumrah isn’t available.

“They will have to think of whether to play four seam-bowling options, and by the looks of it, they may just tend towards that option. If they play four seam-bowling options, they will obviously consider Shardul Thakur at No. 8. He plays more for his all-round abilities. As far as I am concerned, Prasidh Krishna, Siraj and Akash Deep would be my three seamers. Prasidh Krishna has proved slightly expensive in this series, but he has the wicket-taking ability. He hits the deck. He extracts extra bounce, which is always available on the Oval pitch. I consider Prasidh ahead of Arshdeep. In my opinion, Anshul might not be seen playing in this match,” Sanjay Bangar concluded.