Washington Sundar has been dropped from the squad to play for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Mumbai.
Jasprit Bumrah will return as India's designated vice-captain for the Dharamsala Test. The BCCI confirmed this on Thursday, announcing a 16-player squad for the final Test of the England series, which starts on March 7. KL Rahul has been ruled out, and allrounder Washington Sundar has been released from the squad to join his state side, Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu will be playing Mumbai from March 2 to 6 for a spot in the Ranji Trophy final.
According to the BCCI statement, Washington will join the India squad for the fifth Test after the completion of the domestic fixture, if necessary.
Bumrah was dropped from the squad for the fourth Test against England in Ranchi. He was rested. India's victory in that Test sealed a 3-1 series win over England with one match still to play. Despite missing that match, Bumrah remains India's joint-highest wicket-taker in the series. He has taken 17 wickets at 13.64 from the first three matches.
Although the series has already been decided, India and England still have World Test Championship points to play for in Dharamsala. India is currently ranked second on the points table, while England is down at eighth.
The BCCI has also confirmed that Rahul is still unavailable as he is consulting with doctors in London for a quadricep-tendon injury that ruled him out of the second, third, and fourth Tests of the series. The BCCI medical team is closely monitoring Rahul's condition and coordinating with specialists in London for further management. If Rahul is unable to play the first few games of the IPL, which starts on March 22, his franchise, Lucknow Super Giants, will be led by vice-captain Nicholas Pooran.
Regarding Mohammed Shami, who underwent surgery on his right Achilles tendon earlier this week, the BCCI stated that he is recovering and will soon go to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru for rehabilitation.
India squad for Dharamsala Test updated
Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, KS Bharat, Devdutt Padikkal, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep