IND vs ENG 2025: Why is Arshdeep Singh not playing 5th T20I against England 2025?

India took on England in the fifth T20I at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on February 2. India have already taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series and this was be a potential dead rubber. 

In the previous game of the series in Pune, England won the toss and opted to bowl first, coming up with only one change as they brough Mark Wood in place of Saqib Mahmood. On the other hand, India also largely stuck to the same playing XI and made just one change, benching Arshdeep Singh for veteran pacer Mohammed Shami. For the unversed, after nursing the knee injury, Shami played the third T20I but was rested for the fourth.

“We played some good cricket in patches. We should have executed it better though. Need to grab the special moments in the game. There's a good vibe in the team, it's a good venue and it's a great crowd. It's a good wicket, Mark Wood comes back in. Both teams are high-octane. We have four impact subs in our team,” said Buttler at the toss. 

Suryakumar Yadav reiterates ‘high risk, high reward game’ tactic 

“We wanted to bat first, looks a good wicket. I am hoping there won't be much dew. It's going to be a full-packed stadium tonight. We want the boys taking that responsibility, that's what we demand and that's what they are doing. You will fail sometimes, especially when you play that high risk, high reward game. Shami comes back in for Arshdeep Singh,” Suryakumar said at the toss. 

Shami back in place of Arshdeep 

Shami has not got a lot of game time since his return from the injury rehabilitation. He has three more games in the form of ODI series and the pacer will like to be in sound momentum before travelling with the team for Champions Trophy 2025.

Teams

India Playing XI: Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy 

England Playing XI Philip Salt(w), Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler(c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood