England captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the fifth and final Test against India at The Oval due to a grade-three muscle tear in his shoulder, sustained during the drawn fourth Test at Old Trafford. Vice-captain Ollie Pope will lead the side as England aim to secure a series victory with a 2-1 lead.
Stokes aggravated the injury in Manchester, and scans confirmed the severity. Recovery from such a tear is estimated at six to ten weeks, though England's medical team hope for the lower end. The team departs for Australia in just over 14 weeks for the Ashes, and Stokes is optimistic about being fit in time.
“We took as long as we could to make the decision,” Stokes said. “I came down this morning to give myself every chance just to play as a batter – bowling was ruled out as soon as we got the scan results. The risk was way too high. I’ll start rehabbing now and focus on what we’ve got coming up in the winter.”
England have made several changes for the final Test, with Jacob Bethell replacing Stokes at No. 6 and offering a spin option alongside Joe Root. Seamers Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, and Josh Tongue come into the side, while Chris Woakes retains his place. Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, and Liam Dawson are rested.
India are expected to be without injured wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, and Jasprit Bumrah is unlikely to play despite captain Shubman Gill leaving the door open. Gill also downplayed recent controversies between the teams, including time-wasting accusations and a heated exchange between India coach Gautam Gambhir and Oval head groundkeeper Lee Fortis, calling the incident “absolutely unnecessary”.
Stokes defended England's conduct in the drawn fourth Test, saying he had “no regrets” about offering a handshake. “We were right to offer the handshake, they were also right to say: ‘No, we want our hundreds.’ We’re over it. I think India are over it.”
