Why is R Ashwin not playing today’s 5th Test between England and India at Edgbaston?

Dixit Bhargav | 01/07/2022
Why is R Ashwin not playing today's 5th Test between England and India at Edgbaston?

Why R Ashwin not playing today: India have made three changes to their Playing XI from their last Test match.

During the first day of the rescheduled fifth Test of the ongoing India’s tour of England in Birmingham, England captain Ben Stokes has won the toss and chose to bowl.

“We’re gonna have a bowl. We’ve done well chasing and it’s also to see how the wicket will behave. It’s obviously good to come into a new series so quickly. Gives us the opportunity to keep the momentum rolling. We’re going to keep the same attitude going,” Stokes told Sky Sports at the toss.

Leading India for the first time, Jasprit Bumrah expressed excitement about the prospect of becoming India’s 36th Test captain. Contended with his team’s preparations ahead of this one-off Test, Bumrah hinted at executing the plans in these five days.

“It’s a good feeling [to be captain] and is a big privilege. Can’t get better than this. Excited and looking forward to this. Very happy with the preparation. Wanted to spend a lot of time and get used to the English conditions, as we came back from T20s. Happy with the preparation, now it’s for the mental side to take over,” Bumrah told Sky Sports at the toss.

Why is R Ashwin not playing vs England today?

While England had announced their Playing XI yesterday, Bumrah confirmed India’s Playing XI at the toss. Not experimenting a lot, India have retained their four-pacer and a spin-bowling all-rounder strategy from last year.

As a result, Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja will take care of the bowling duties at Edgbaston. The development has once again resulted in no place in the XI for ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Readers must note that Ashwin had missed all the four Tests of this series in 2021 as well.

As far as the opening combination is concerned, batters Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara have returned to the Playing XI. While regular captain Rohit Sharma is missing this match due to COVID-19, Agarwal hasn’t been preferred in spite of being called upon as a late replacement for Sharma.

Post Edited By: Dixit Bhargav
England India India tour of England 2022 Ravichandran Ashwin

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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