Pacer Jasprit Bumrah will lead India after regular captain Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the match with COVID-19.

India were 2-1 ahead in the series last September when the final test at Old Trafford was cancelled due to COVID-19 cases in their camp. The fifth Test will be played in Edgbaston from Friday.

Nine months have passed since that uncompleted series with a lot of changes in both side, with Virat Kohli relinquishing Test captaincy while Ben Stokes has taken over the England leadership role in place of Joe Root.

The 3-0 demolition of New Zealand with three tricky chases completed in style has shown that England, under new coach Brendon McCullum, have emerged as a force.

India will have to bat well and in absence of regular opening pair of Rohit and Rahul, who were fantastic during the four Tests played last year.

Coach Rahul Dravid expects a match-winning performance if not a hundred from Virat Kohli, who looked good in the practice game but the Test match will be a different beast altogether.

James Anderson might be a month short of his 40th birthday but those magical wrists can still make the ball dart around and it will be a different experience for Shubman Gill or Shreyas Iyer.

Cheteshwar Pujara has scored a bagful of county runs but that psychological disadvantage of facing the very first ball of an innings, if he is asked to open, could clutter his mind.

Hanuma Vihari is a solid player but would need support from the other end, considering he has a defensive game.

It remains to be seen who will be India's bowling all-rounder. Will it be Ravichandran Ashwin, who isn't an automatic choice in overseas conditions or Shardul Thakur, who hasn't done his chances any harm with some big-hearted efforts.

Edgbaston hasn't exactly been a happy hunting ground for India where they have lost most of their Test matches but as it often happens with new beginnings, a new captain can always try to buck the trend.