Team India will face off against England in the rescheduled fifth Test from last year, which will take place in Edgbaston from July 1-5. The contest was postponed after a covid outbreak in the Indian camp, and the Men in Blue are currently leading the series 2-1.
Recently, the Indian contingent featuring Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Hanuma Vihari among others jetted off to the UK, while skipper Rohit Sharma also joined them after a few days.
One player who will be a notable absentee is KL Rahul, who is currently nursing a groin injury. The 29-year-old had a stellar season in IPL 2022, wherein he finished as the second-highest run-scorer in the league behind Jos Buttler.
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Rahul was set to lead India against South Africa in the recently concluded five-match T20I series, however, the groin injury ruled him out of the series, and the issue needs further looking into, which is why he will take no part in India's tour of England.
As per reports, the Karnataka batsman is set to fly to Germany, where experts will take a better look into his injury. BCCI had named Mayank Agarwal as one of the standby players for the Test squad, however, he will not be called into action as per the latest reports.
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So with KL Rahul injured and Mayank Agarwal on standby, who will open for India, versus England?
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The answer is Shubman Gill. While skipper Rohit Sharma is almost certain to take up one opening spot, he will most likely be partnered by Gill, who won the IPL 2022 with Gujarat Titans and hit a half-century in the final as well.
Apart from Gill, India also have KS Bharat in their Test squad, who can also open the innings with Rohit, while former skipper Virat Kohli can also be seen opening the innings, should things go south with Gill, who is the leading candidate to partner Rohit.
