India and England will be involved in a dead rubber at Oval, London from Friday as the hosts sealed an unassailable 3-1 lead in the ongoing five-match with a 61-run win in the fourth Test earlier this week.
India will be hoping to finish what has been yet another disappointing overseas campaign on a high. Virat Kohli, who has personally had a tour to remember, has the opportunity to become only second India captain after Kapil Dev to lead the team to more than one Test win in a series in the Old Blighty.
Kohli and the Indian team management have been criticised for changing and chopping a bit too often in the ongoing series. However, for the first time, the captain will have the luxury of making changes without facing criticism as the dead rubber gives the visitors an opportunity to test the bench strength.
Jadeja, Karthik likely to make playing XI
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who started the tour on a high at Edgbaston only to find it difficult as the series progressed, is unlikely to feature in the playing XI. The seasoned campaigner, according to media reports, didn't hit the nets on Wednesday due to an injury he had picked up during the fourth Test.
Ravindra Jadeja is expected to replace his spin twin. All eyes will be on the left-arm spinner as he will be first playing his first overseas Test in more than a year. The all-rounder will also add much-needed batting depth to the Indian side.
Rishabh Pant, who made an impressive debut in Nottingham, only to struggle both with the bat and behind the stumps in Southampton, may make way for Dinesh Karthik, according to The Times of India.
Meanwhile, all eyes will be on India's opening combination as young Prithvi Shaw is likely to get an opportunity in the fifth Test. With KL Rahul struggling to put bat to ball (115 runs in eight innings), the team management will be tempted to give international exposure to the promising teenager, who led India to U-19 World Cup glory earlier this year.
England are unlikely to let their guard down despite having sealed the series as the fifth Test will be Alastair Cook's last international outing.
The left-handed opener and England's all-time leading run-scorer will be hoping to make a mark in his final Test and erase the memories of what has been a poor series for him so far.
England may also play young Ollie Pope in place of Jonny Bairstow, who failed to impress while playing with a minor injury in Southampton.
Probable playing XIs
England: Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root (c), Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohamed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
Pitch and conditions
Conditions in Oval are expected to be similar to Ageas Bowl and both teams would be keen on batting first after winning the toss. There is no rain threat but a cloudy weather is predicted for Saturday, the second day of the Test.
