For the fourth Test against England, Bumrah has been rested

KL Rahul is set to miss the fourth and final Test in Dharamsala, depending on whether he is fit to play.

Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the second and third Tests, has been rested for the fourth Test against England in Ranchi from 23 February. KL Rahul, who missed the second and third Tests, will also miss the fourth Test. His inclusion in the final Test in Dharamsala is subject to fitness.

The decision to rest Bumrah was made to manage his workload, as he has bowled 80.5 overs in the first three Tests. This is in preparation for the upcoming IPL season, followed closely by the 2024 T20 World Cup. It was speculated that Bumrah would be rested for the third Test in Rajkot, but with the series level at 1-1, he eventually went on to play.

Mukesh Kumar, who was dropped for the third Test in Rajkot, has been recalled to the squad for Ranchi. He played for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy match against Bihar after his release and took a career-best 10 for 50 in Bengal's comprehensive win.

India currently leads the five-match series 2-1 after a record-breaking 434-run victory in Rajkot. However, they will have to find a way to compensate Bumrah's absence. Bumrah is the leading wicket-taker in the series with 17 wickets at 13.64 apiece. He was also the Player of the Match in India's win in the second Test in Visakhapatnam, where he took 9 for 91 across both innings.

Meanwhile, Mukesh played in the second Test against England when Mohammed Siraj was rested, but he bowled just 12 overs in Vishakapatnam, conceding 70 runs for a single wicket. If India decide to play two fast bowlers in Ranchi, the choice for the second spot will be between Mukesh and the uncapped Akash Deep, who has been included in the squad for the last three Tests after topping the wicket-taking charts for India A in the recent first-class matches against England Lions.

Rahul scored 86 and 22 in the first Test in Hyderabad, which were the highest scores for India in the match. However, he missed the second Test due to a quadriceps injury. Although he was included in the squad for the third Test, he was eventually ruled out due to a sore knee.

The fourth Test between India and England commences February 23, only four days after the conclusion of the third Test. However, there will be an eight-day interval between the end of the fourth Test on February 27 and the commencement of the fifth and final Test on March 7.

India squad for fourth Test: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, KS Bharat, Devdutt Padikkal, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep