India Not Playing Arshdeep Singh on Oval’s Green Top Despite Jasprit Bumrah’s Absence Has Fans Raising Their Eyebrows – “Gautam is Literally Ruining His Career”

Apart from Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran is another player who has not played a single match in the England tour.

India Not Playing Arshdeep Singh on Oval’s Green Top Despite Jasprit Bumrah’s Absence Has Fans Raising Their Eyebrows – “Gautam is Literally Ruining His Career”

Arshdeep Singh has not been picked in the playing XI for India's last Test against England. (India Today)

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Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir is facing the heat, for not playing Arshdeep Singh in the fifth and final Test match against England, at the Oval. Singh was not picked despite having returned to full fitness, and even with Jasprit Bumrah out of the playing XI. 

The final Test between India and England, is a must-win one for the Men in Blue as they trail 1-2 after the the first four matches. A win at the Oval, will help the visiting Indian side to level the series. However, captain Shubman Gill and his team are facing a daunting task in the final match, as they are without two of their key players: vice-captain and wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant and the team’s ace pacer, Jasprit Bumrah.

Pant was officially ruled out of the final encounter after sustaining a fractured toe on the opening day of the fourth Test at Old Trafford. He did bravely came out to bat in the second innings despite being in immense pain and scored a half-century. Meanwhile, Bumrah, who has been India’s best bowler in the series so far and picked up 14 wickets, has opted out of the final Test in order to manage his workload.

While back-up wicket-keeper batter Dhruv Jurel easily slotted in for Rishabh Pant, it was anticipated that Arshdeep Singh would get his much-awaited Test call-up for the final showdown, in Bumrah’s absence. Singh was initially expected to play in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, but he unfortunately suffered an impact injury on his left thumb while bowling in the nets during a training session in Beckenham.

However, to everyone’s utter surprise, the 26-year-old pacer was not picked in the playing XI for the final match, raising eyebrows. All of it sparked questions on head coach Gautam Gambhir’s team selection strategies, with many suggesting that the Punjab pacer would have been the perfect fit on a green-top surface like the Oval. Singh, known for his ability to swing the ball both ways, would have been a great addition.

Meanwhile, Bumrah and Anshul Kamboj, who played in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, were replaced by Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep, respectively. Arshdeep Singh will now have to wait for his Test debut until the red-ball series against West Indies at home, in October. The 26-year-old, who was named the 2024 ICC T20I Player of the Year, will although be a key player at the 2025 Asia Cup, in September.

Not just Arshdeep Singh, but head coach Gautam Gambhir was also slammed for omitting spinner Kuldeep Yadav from the playing XI, at the Oval. He will be the second bowler, after Singh, to end the India-England without playing a single match. 

Fans Angrily React to Arshdeep Singh’s Omission From the Playing XI, for the Final Test 

Indian cricket fans lashed out at the Gautam Gambhir, for leaving out Arshdeep Singh for the final Test match against England, despite favorable pitch conditions. The left-arm pacer, who has won two ICC titles with the Men in Blue, has been kept on the bench throughout the England tour.

Arshdeep Singh Indian fans slam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir was slammed by fans on social media for not picking Arshdeep Singh in the playing XI. (via ESPN Cricinfo)

Fans were left outraged, and many of them questioned Gambhir about how much more the left-arm pacer would need to do to earn a spot in the playing XI. Other fans were more direct, blaming the Team India head coach for ruining Arshdeep’s career. They even labeled his decision to select Prasidh Krishna as ‘unpardonable’, while citing the latter’s inconsistency and poor economy-rate in the first two Tests.

Many others on social media suggested that Arshdeep Singh is India’s only all-format bowler and that his treatment by Gautam Gambhir is inexcusable. They also highlighted how Singh was also not picked for the playing XI at the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, with Gambhir instead opting to play Harshit Rana.