India Vs England: R Ashwin likely to miss fifth Test; Prithvi Shaw to replace struggling KL Rahul

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London, Sep 4: India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is likely to miss the fifth Test match against England, starting September 7 and Ravindra Jadeja might replace the Tamil Nadu spinner in the playing XI at Kennington Oval.

As per a Times of India report, Ashwin, who was already suffering from a groin injury in the third Test, seems to have sustained another injury in the fourth Test and facing a race against time to get fit before Friday.

In all likelihood, Jadeja, who is the second spinner in the India squad, will be picked up by skipper Virat Kohli. Jadeja has been warming the benches in the series as India played with just a spinner all along with Ashwin being the first choice spinner. Jadeja has been performing a substitute duties all through the series.

However, Ashwin's performance in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge stunned all as the tall-spinner managed to get 3 wickets on a track where England off-spinner Moeen Ali returned with a nine-wicket-haul. Ashwin's inability to succeed on a track, which was behaving like a traditional sub-continental pitch, stunned all. This further triggered the debate that the spinner wasn't 100% fit in the game even as the team management fielded in the must-win fourth Test.

Reports are also claiming that opener KL Rahul, who has had a terrible series, might make way for young Prithvi Shaw to open the innings for India in the final Test. However, it remains to be seen if Rahul will be axed from the side or gets a place in the middle order. The young Karnataka batsman has amassed just 113 in eight innings so far and might not be able to retain his spot at the top.

With Murali Vijay already axed from the series due to consistently bad performances in the series, the team management would give young Shaw a chance. Shaw has been doing exceptionally well in the domestic circuit and the 20-year-old is already being hailed as the next Sachin Tendulkar. In 14 first-class, 19 List A, and 9 T20 games, Shaw has already shown his potential. In his 26 innings, Shaw has slammed seven centuries.