Team India and England will be involved in a five-match Test series, starting on August 4th at Trent Bridge. From the perspective of the World Test Championship, this will be an important tournament. However, Team India has been rocked back with an early blow. Shubman Gill has been ruled out of the series with an injury. The youngster had made his debut on the Australia Tour and had forged a productive partnership with Rohit Sharma at the top. In his absence, here is a look at four opening combinations which Team India could try in the upcoming England Test series.
1) Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal
Rohit Sharma has been India’s best Test batsman in recent months. He scored 1094 runs in 12 games at the World Test Championship. Moreover, since 2019, Rohit has operated at the top in the red-ball format, and hence, he will continue at the position.
Rohit became the Test opener in 2019 for the home series against South Africa. It was actually Mayank Agarwal who walked out along with Rohit at the top. The duo shared a partnership of 317 runs in their first-ever game as opening partners. Mayank, too, scored 857 runs in recent WTC, but it’s just that his current form isn’t encouraging. Nevertheless, as per various reports, India is likely to field this combination in the England series.
2) Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul
KL Rahul has, so far, played only six innings outside the opening position. However, the management is intent on using KL in the middle-order rather than as an opener. Nevertheless, with Gill ruled out, KL might as well get his chance at the top of the order.
The Karnataka lad last played a Test in August 2019. It was against West Indies at the Sabina Park, where he managed only 19 runs. That said, he is one of the very players from Team India who has got a century in England. Having not been with Rohit Sharma as an opener in the five-day format, so far, the duo can walk out together for the first time in the England Test series.
3) Rohit Sharma and Hanuma Vihari
After he did well at Perth, and since the openers were disappointing, Hanuma Vihari became the opener for the Melbourne Test back in 2018. Mayank Agarwal was his opening partner then. This move was similar to what had happened with Ravi Shastri a few decades ago.
A solid middle-order batsman, Hanuma Vihari is popular for his technique and temperament. Although he made just 21 runs in his only game as an opener, Vihari could be tried out in the position. Having been part of a County assignment in the last few months, no other Indian cricketer is better acclimatized to the conditions than Vihari. He will be complementing Rohit’s approach and will also blunt the new ball so that the batters below can bat freely.
4) KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal
Rohit Sharma will surely be one of the openers for the England Test series. However, if the Hitman isn’t available or if he is suffering from poor form, Team India could try out the opening combination of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal.
Although they might have been successful at the domestic level, this combination of best friends opened together only in three games for Team India in the longer format. Unfortunately, the opening order could never survive more than a maximum of 32 runs in these games. That said, both are solid customers, and Team India could offer them a fresh start in the English conditions.
