Mayank Agarwal has been ruled out of the opening Test against England after suffering an injury in training. The Indian batsman got hit on the helmet during a training session and showed signs of concussion after being assessed by the medical team.
“The 30-year-old is stable and will remain under close medical observation,” stated a BCCI release on Monday (August 2).
Agarwal was expected to partner Rohit Sharma at the top of the order after a vacant spot was left due to the injury to Shubman Gill. Rohit and Gill has been the preferred opening combination for India for the last 9 months, but the likes of Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul and Prithvi Shaw are also in the reckoning.
Rahul is the front runner to take the place of his Karnataka and Punjab Kings teammate. However, there is also a possibility of Hanuma Vihari or Abhimanyu Easwaran partnering Rohit Sharma at the top of the order.
Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar and Avesh Khan have already been ruled out of the test series and have travelled back to India to regain their fitness before IPL begins.
Prithvi Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav have been called to the Test side in England as replacements for the three injured players. However, they will not be available for selection for the first two test matches due to quarantine.
Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane, India’s vice-captain, ruled out the possibility of Cheteshwar Pujara opening the batting. “Pujara is our No.3 batsman. Who’ll open our innings, we are again finalising our combination, it’s not yet finalised. Pujara has been really solid for us as No. 3 batsman and he’ll continue to bat at No. 3. As an opening bat, the captain, coach and management will decide the combination and you’ll get to know soon.”
The five-match Test series will start at Trent Bridge from August 4 before the two sides move to Lord’s, Headingly, Kennington Oval and Old Trafford for the remaining four matches.
