Why is Ben Stokes not playing today's ENG vs IND 2025 5th Test?

England are without their captain Ben Stokes for the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against India. The match got underway at The Oval, London, on Thursday, July 31.

The English side announced their playing XI for the crucial fixture on the eve of the Test. Stokes' absence from the lineup surprised many fans. The talismanic all-rounder has been ruled out of the match due to a shoulder injury.

Speaking in a pre-match press conference, Stokes revealed that he has suffered a muscle tear. He also stated that the team management considered playing him as a genuine batter due to the injury scare.

However, it wasn't the case as the veteran cricketer had to sit out. Commenting on the injury, here's what Ben Stokes said (quoted as saying by Sky Sports):

"I am obviously disappointed. I have got a decent tear in one of the muscles I can't pronounce. We took as long as we could to make the decision around that. Obviously, there is a bit of emotion that goes into this stuff when you find out what you have done. I came down here this morning to give myself every chance to play just as a batter."

Ben Stokes was England's standout performer in the recently concluded fourth Test. He was adjudged the Player of the Match in the drawn encounter. The 34-year-old picked up a five-wicket haul in the first innings.

He also shone with the bat, notching up a fantastic century. The southpaw scored 141 off 198 balls in England's only innings.

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Ollie Pope to captain England in Ben Stokes' absence for ENG vs IND 2025 5th Test

English batter Ollie Pope will lead the home team, with regular skipper Ben Stokes ruled out. The veteran all-rounder's absence is a significant setback for the side.

Stokes has been a workhorse with the ball in the series, bowling 140 overs, the most by him in a single series of his Test career. He is currently the leading wicket-taker of the series, with 17 scalps across eight innings at an average of 25.23.

He has done a decent job with the bat as well, amassing 304 runs across seven innings at an average of 43.42. Meanwhile, England have a 2-1 lead to their name at this stage.

England won the toss and chose to field first at The Oval. Here are the two playing XIs:

IND: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel(w), Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj

ENG: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue