Express pacer Mark Wood returns to England’s playing XI for the fifth and final Test against India in Dharamsala.

Wood featured in the first and third Test of the series in Hyderabad and Rajkot respectively but was rested for the fourth Test to manage his workload. Though he went wicketless in England’s win in the series opener, the 34-year-old picked up four wickets in the third Test and contributed a handy 37 runs, albeit in a losing cause.

Wood returns at the expense of Ollie Robinson, who looked off-colour in the fourth Test in Ranchi. Robinson suffered a back strain during England's first batting innings, preventing him from bowling in India's successful chase in the fourth innings. In the first innings, he bowled 13 overs without taking a wicket and conceding 54 runs.

England playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir

India took an unassailable 3-1 lead with a thrilling win in the fourth Test but both teams have crucial World Test Championship points to play for.

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The hosts went on top of the WTC25 standings after New Zealand slipped to second place following defeat to Australia in the first Test. England, on the other hand, will be looking to surge up the table where they are currently languishing at the 8th spot with a point percentage of 19.44