Picture Credit: Twitter
Mayank Agarwal is set to replace India captain Rohit Sharma for the fifth and final Test match against England. Sharma was sidelined from the squad after testing positive for Covid-19 on Sunday during India’s warm-up match against Leicestershire.
Sharma has been in isolation ahead of the Edgbaston Test against England, scheduled to begin from 1 July. Agarwal is set to fly out today and join the rest of the squad and is expected to be a stand-by opener in case the India captain fails to recover in time, as reported by various sources.
With Rohit Sharma being out because of the virus for the next few days ahead of the crucial Edgbaston Test and KL Rahul dealing with a groin injury, the Indian team is short of openers as only Shubman Gill is available. Hence if required, Mayank Agarwal could immediately join the Playing XI with no quarantine needed in England. Agarwal last played in the Indian colours in March during the two home Tests against Sri Lanka but was not named in the original team for the final game in Edgbaston.
Jasprit Bumrah likely to lead India
Similarly, with the absence of Rohit Sharma and the team’s vice-captain KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah could lead the team in the final Test. The Gujarat-born pacer was made the vice-captain in the three-game series against South Africa at the start of the year. Similarly, when asked whether he is up to taking up the challenge, Bumrah while speaking at a press conference said that he is ready to take up the captaincy.
"If given an opportunity, it would be an honour. I don’t think any player would say no. There’s no bigger feeling than that," Bumrah had said back then. "I don’t like to chase things because I don’t want to… See I am a person who believes that God has a plan and everything will find out its own way, so I don’t like to hamper the plan that is there. I try to never change anything."
"Whatever role is asked of me I would do it with the best ability that I can. I don’t want to change the whole organisation, you are always a leader when you are a senior member of the team so it’s just a post that comes with you," he continued.