England will face India in the rescheduled fifth Test match at Edgbaston, Birmingham from Friday.

This game was to take place last year but could not be completed due to Covid-19 cases in the Indian camp. India has a lead of 2-1 in the series and they will look to win their first series in English conditions after 2007 when current head coach Rahul Dravid had led the team to a 1-0 series win.

Meanwhile, the unavailability of crucial players is going to be a headache for the tourists. KL Rahul is ruled out due to a right groin injury while Rohit Sharma had tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday, which has raised doubts about his participation.

However, Rohit had shared a photograph on his Instagram story, which indicated he could be fit to join the Test. If Rohit fails to recover, it will be interesting to note who will lead India in the fifth Test match.

On the other hand, England is in sublime form and they have the momentum on their side. The Ben Stokes-led team recently whitewashed the Test champions New Zealand by 3-0 and they will look to continue the good show. England has adopted an aggressive approach under new head coach Brendon McCullum and India is going to have their work cut out.

Match Prediction: England is going to start as favorites as they have the winning impetus and they will be playing in their own conditions.

India’s Test squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohd Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.

England Test squad: Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Sam Billings, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Matthew Potts, Ollie Pope