ENG vs IND Fifth Test Match: Pacer Jasprit Bumrah is all set to don the Indian test captaincy in the 5th and the last test to be played in the Edgbaston, Nottingham. Rohit Sharma ruled out from the last test owing to a positive result in the Rapid antigen test (RAT) conducted by BCCI on Thursday.
With that, Rohit’s sequence of missing out on SENA test matches continue. The35-year-old Mumbai batter is frequently fighting with injuries and diseases on overseas tours which lead to his dismal stats in test cricket.
Rohit was in top-notch form in the 4 tests that played last year before this 5th test was postponed due to the covid-19 outbreak in the Indian camp.
Stand-in-skipper Jasprit Bumrah has to battle it out with some dilemmas that he needs to solve with coach Rahul Dravid. In the absence of skipper Rohit, the biggest problem ahead is selecting the opener.
Most likely, Cheteshwar Pujara will open the innings with Shubman Gill which means Hanuma Vihari or KS Bharat will get the nod as number 3 batter.
They can look at Mayank Agarwal as an opener as well who was sent to England for Rohit’s backup option but his stats at overseas are not trustable.
Bumrah had another task of facing the strong and energetic England that currently whitewashed New Zealand. They are looking aggressive and fearless since the inception of a new captain-coach duo of Stokes and McCullum.
Rohit Sharma has often missed the tests in SENA countries due to injuries or diseases just before the tour. This has led to his less reputation in tests as in limited-overs cricket.
Rohit last missed the overseas tour against South Africa due to injury while he also missed the 2020 New Zealand tour and frequently missed the important series.
Rohit’s absence will affect India badly as he was the top scorer for team India in the 4 test matches they played last year. Hence, Dravid and Bumrah need to find ways to tackle the courageous English attack.
By: Mohit Singhal
