Players who can replace injured Rohit Sharma in the 5th Test match.
ENGvsIND: The Indian team has been taken aback by the injury woes of Rohit Sharma who is having a stellar test series against England. The veteran cricketer is uncertain about his participation in the final test match against England due to the bruises he received on his thighs in the fourth test match at the Oval.
The senior Indian opener, Rohit Sharma along with Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t take the field during the day four and five of the 4th Test match and the medical team was constantly working with them. Rohit was adjudged as the ‘Man of the Match’ in the Oval test and following which he was asked about the updates on his injury to which he replied:
“It looks good at the moment. The message from the physio is ‘assess every minute, don’t look too far ahead.”
If the veteran opener didn’t take the field on the fifth test match, team India will miss its main pillar of the tour. Rohit has tormented bowlers in the entire series till now and has been a rock-solid obstacle for the Englishmen. His absence in the test match may hurt India’s dreams of lifting the Pataudi Trophy.
Players who can replace injured Rohit Sharma in the 5th Test match
India will have two major options to play with if Rohit Sharma becomes unavailable for the final test match due to injury issues.
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Mayank Agarwal:
The first choice option will be Mayank Agarwal. The opener was about to open alongside Rohit Sharma in the ongoing test series, however, a nasty bouncer from Mohammad Siraj in the practice sessions ahead of the first test blocked his way in the tour. KL Rahul replaced Agarwal and sealed a spot for him with Rohit by giving India a solid start in almost all matches.
Agarwal has smacked two double centuries in the test format and has a beautiful technique to handle the bowlers during the initial phase. He loves to keep the scoreboard moving even during hard phases of the match.
Prithvi Shaw:
Prithvi Shaw, who was drafted in as a replacement in between the tours, will be another option with Virat Kohli. Although Shaw is very unlikely to pad up for the batting, he can be a good option.
The young Indian star was sidelined by Indian selectors after his horrible outing in the last Australia tour. His last match was in Adelaide where he returned with a duck and four in two innings.
The cricketer has since then changed himself and looked over his problems. He was brilliant in the recent India tour to Australia and can do the job for India in the final test as well.
India has another option of Abhimanyu Easwaran to go with, however, the management will certainly look at Mayank Agarwal if Rohit is ruled out of the test match.
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