Last Updated on 4 years ago by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Will Rohit Sharma play in the Test against England? | Will Rohit Sharma play in the 5th Test vs England at Edgbaston?
The Indian team management is adopting a patient approach with respect to skipper Rohit Sharma’s availability for the decider Test vs England that will begin at Edgbaston from 1st July, 2022.
Rohit turned out positive for Covid-19 as per the results of a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) that was conducted on 25th June. The 35-year-old was subsequently placed under isolation. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said that the touring medical team is monitoring the captain.
Rohit is free to feature in the game provided that he tests negative prior to the commencement of the match. That is because there exist no mandatory quarantine protocols in England for a Covid positive test result. The team management is not rushing to rope in any reinforcements given that Rohit dons the crucial twin role of a captain-opener in the side.
The side is already short of regular opener KL Rahul and hence they might be harbouring hopes on at least having the skipper in to partner Shubman Gill at the top for the game. Talks are meanwhile ongoing over flying in Mayank Agarwal to Birmingham so that he can be a back-up option provided that there are any last-minute fitness concerns with Rohit, Cricbuzz reports.
If Rohit not fit for final Test vs England, India have other captaincy options
The think-tank is not fretting over the possibility of having to name a stand-in captain given that the options for the same are aplenty. As per the aforementioned website, the likes of Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah can take over the leadership role for the match at any point in time.
However, a final call on the same will be taken only once chief selector Chetan Sharma reaches the United Kingdom (UK). Sharma is in Dublin at present for India’s T20I series vs Ireland that will round up on 28th June. It is reported that a clearer picture will be emerge on Rohit’s potential availability for the game by then.
The Indian skipper played a pivotal to help the team take a 2-1 lead heading into the final game of the series. Rohit scored 368 runs at an average of 52.59 with two half-centuries and a century to his name in eight innings in the series last year.
He was ably supported by KL Rahul who notched 315 runs including a century and a half-century each in the same number of innings. India needs to either draw of the win the game at Edgbaston to emerge victorious in a Test series in England for the first time since 2007-08.
