After making a whitewash in the tour of Ireland, the India team is now in front of the English team in a single Test match clash. No player on the Ireland tour is part of the Indian team for the Test match against England. In this most important Test, India had to present a challenge under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma.
Sharma is COVID-19 infected and it is not yet clear whether he will be able to play in the Test match in Birmingham starting on July 1. It is a very important Test match for India to remain in a good position for the World Test Championship.
Choices of captaincy in absence of Rohit Sharma
Jasprit Bumrah may be the first choice for captaincy. He already announced the vice-captain of the team. So it is obvious to replace the captain. Jassy is one of the best fast bowlers in the world right now. But, the problem with him is that he has not captained any site at any level of professional cricket till now.
India has another option of Rishabh Pant to lead the team. Rishabh is a permanent member of the Indian Test. He has the experience of captaining the Delhi Capitals in IPL. Apart from this, Rishabh also took command in the home T20 series against South Africa. Experts say it will be very early to hand over the captaincy to Pant.
The last option is that of formal Indian captain Virat Kohli. Virat has left the captaincy of India in all formats. However, considering the situation this test is a very important test, the team management may request him to captain a match.
The problem of opening a pair
Sharma Ji is not only the captain of the team but he is also an unreplaceable opener. English condition is one of the toughest places to open. In such a situation, the question has arisen about the new opening pair.