Ind vs Eng 5th Test: Mayank Agarwal to Open With Shubman Gill if Rohit Sharma Does Not Recover in Time

Leicester: While Covid +ve Rohit Sharma is racing against time to get ready for the fifth Test, the Board of Control of Cricket in India has asked Mayank Agarwal to join the team as a back-up option. A report in ESPNCricinfo suggests that Agarwal will not have to undergo quarantine. A member of the selection committee told InsideSport that Rohit is currently in isolation and if he tests negative by June 30 – he would be available for the tie.

“Rohit will remain in isolation. There is no rush to take a decision on captaincy yet. If Rohit tests negative by June 30, he will be available for the match. He is match-fit and should not be a problem,” a member of the selection committee told InsideSport.

Chairman (selection committee) will reach England after Ireland series and if a captaincy decision needs to be taken, he will at that time,” he added.

Agarwal, 31, had initially been left out of India’s squad for the Edgbaston Test named in May. But a right groin injury to KL Rahul, which ruled him out of home T20I series against South Africa in June and captain Rohit Sharma’s availability in doubt due to testing positive for Covid-19 means that Agarwal is now on his way to Birmingham to join the Test squad.

Agarwal last played a Test match for India in March, during the two-match home series against Sri Lanka in Mohali and Bengaluru. He could manage to score just 59 runs at an average of 19.66. He then turned out for Punjab Kings in IPL 2022, where he was their captain.

But Agarwal had a season to forget with the bat, scoring just 196 runs in 12 innings at an average of 16.33 and a strike rate of 122.5 as Punjab finished sixth on the points table. He then appeared for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Uttar Pradesh, making 10 and 22 in a five-wicket defeat at Alur.

India are leading the Test series 2-1 against England, before a Covid-19 outbreak in the visitors’ camp saw the fifth and final Test in Manchester rescheduled to Edgbaston this year. After this, India will play three ODIs and as many T20Is, scheduled to happen from July 7 to 17.