Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh will have to wait a little longer for his Test debut, as the Indian team management opted to leave him out of the playing XI for the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval in London. Despite growing anticipation among fans and experts, especially with Jasprit Bumrah rested, Arshdeep did not find a place in the side, with the team choosing to stick with Prasidh Krishna, whose recent performances have been underwhelming.
Arshdeep was in strong contention to play the fourth Test at Old Trafford but suffered an unfortunate setback during practice—a hand injury that required stitches, ruling him out of that fixture. In his absence, Anshul Kamboj was handed a surprise debut. Many believed Arshdeep would finally get his chance in the fifth Test, but the management once again leaned on prior experience.
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At the toss, skipper Shubman Gill noted the pitch looked bowler-friendly and announced three changes to the side, though he missed mentioning one key inclusion—Akash Deep, who replaced Anshul Kamboj. In total, India made four changes as they aim to level the series 2-2.
Meanwhile, England won the toss and chose to bowl, extending India’s baffling run of 15 consecutive toss losses in men’s international cricket.
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Arshdeep Singh, who has been part of the squad throughout the series, received his maiden red-ball call-up for this tour. He’s already featured in nine ODIs and 63 T20Is, collecting 14 and 99 wickets respectively. His Test debut was nearly confirmed after Akash Deep suffered a groin niggle before the fourth Test, but Arshdeep’s injury during a net session at Beckenham dashed those hopes.
With the series currently 2-1 in England’s favour, India must win at The Oval to avoid a series defeat and end the tour on a positive note.
Arshdeep Singh puri series England mein pic.twitter.com/LdsxOuzrlx
— Raja Babu (@GaurangBhardwa1) July 31, 2025
Playing Prasidh Krishna, who hits the deck hard and is inconsistent, on a green pitch where Arshdeep Singh’s swing and seam would have been ideal. Gautam Gambhir..if this move goes wrong then it will simply be the last straw. Unbelievable. Unpardonable. #INDvsENG #Bumrah
— Anuj Nitin Prabhu (@APTalksCricket) July 31, 2025
Abhimanyu Easwaran, Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav in this 5 Test match series- pic.twitter.com/AUj6M9Ox5A
— Dinda Academy (@academy_dinda) July 31, 2025
Feel For Arshdeep Singh 💔 pic.twitter.com/qQbqu4ZC8y
— 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁 (@DilSeMemes) July 31, 2025
The fact that none of Kuldeep Yadav or Arshdeep Singh have played a Test this series is mind boggling considering how poor some of India’s bowling has been this series
Both quality bowlers and wicket takers#ENGvIND
— Mohit Shah (@mohit_shah17) July 31, 2025
You have to be a different kind of shameless to play Prasidh Krishna ahead of Arshdeep Singh.#ENGvIND
— Pravir Singh (@Pravir21) July 31, 2025
That Bastard Gambhir has humiliated Arshdeep Singh through out Champions trophy by playing Shami or Harshit Rana
Anshul Kambhoj coming from India is getting a debut mid series but Arshdeep has to spectate entire series
Imagine what you are doing to a youngster https://t.co/TlFMOTN0kH
— Shabdabhedi 🚩 🚩 🚩 🪷 (@themangoindian) July 31, 2025
No Kuldeep, No Arshdeep
Hopefully this will be the last match for karun nair as a player, and gautam gambhir as the coach.
Pathetic team selection
— Nikhil Batra (@NikkBatra) July 31, 2025
