England captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the fifth and final Test against India at the Kia Oval due to a muscle tear in his right shoulder.
Warwickshire star Jacob Bethell has been called up as his replacement, while Ollie Pope takes over the captaincy.
Stokes, who played a starring role with bat and ball in the drawn fourth Test at Old Trafford, now faces up to seven weeks on the sidelines.
Stokes ‘disappointed’ to miss out
In a press conference on Wednesday, Stokes expressed his disappointment at having to withdraw from the squad for the final Test of what has been an enthralling series.
“I am obviously disappointed,” he admitted.
“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.
“I think you need that time chatting with the medical team, Baz [Brendon McCullum], then 20 minutes with myself to really be clear around the decision that we made.”
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England to seal the series
The captain maintains that the team is more than good enough to get the job done in his absence and seal a morale-boosting series win over India.
He told the media: “We are still able to field an 11 that is going to give us a very good chance of winning this game and winning the series. That is the benefit of having a very strong squad.
“We have some good cricketers to choose from when we find ourselves in a situation like this.
“So, let’s put full concentration on the 11 we have got out there this week. We are very confident we have got the ability to win this game and the series.”
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Replacement Bethell a ‘quality player’
Regarding his replacement, Stokes has no doubt that 21-year-old Bethell boasts the quality to compete at the highest level.
“There was a lot more hype and pressure on his shoulders when he [Bethell] got given the chance to bat at number three in New Zealand, and he handled that pretty well,” Stokes said.
“I think being the type of player that he is where he plays all three formats probably allows him to be a bit more versatile with where he bats in the order.
“He will slide in at six and I am very confident in his ability; he is a quality player, I think we all know that.
“We weren’t going to change the batting order at all so it is quite easy for him to slot in at six.”
England XI for fifth Test vs India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue.
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Adam Peaker 
Newsjustnews writers 
Carmela Calling