2 players who can open for India in the five-match test series against England

Indian batsmen have come under the scanner after their defeat against New Zealand in the World Test Championship final. They have failed to score consistently in overseas conditions. The five-match Test series against England would be India’s next challenge. But they need to rethink the team arrangement after the disastrous performance against New Zealand.

The Indian team had Shubman Gill partnered with Rohit Sharma to open during the WTC final. But Gill’s performance has been criticized and many experts believe he is better suited to play in the middle order. He had a brilliant Test debut and made match-winning 91 runs in the final Test of Border-Gavaskar trophy last year. But he has struggled to make good runs after that match and got dismissed in his 20s and 30s.

Thereby, Gill is not in his best form for the match against England. He could get replaced by someone else in the playing XI. There are 2 players that the team management would choose to replace Gill.

Mayank Agarwal

In 14 matches that Mayank Agarwal played, he scored 1052 runs at an average of 45.73. He has an impressive Test match record as an opener. His Test debut was against Australia in 2018 and he had hit a half-century. Agarwal successfully played against the world-class bowling attack of Australia made good runs in his first match.

Moreover, his performance as an opener was one of the best for two years after his debut. He had an impressive home series against Bangladesh and South Africa and made 3 half-centuries at an average of 99.50.

But Mayank Agarwal has not been able to perform consistently since then. He has struggled to play against seam and swing in overseas conditions. Moreover, he repeatedly got dismissed for low runs during the Test against New Zealand and Australia. Thereby, he was not part of the playing eleven for the championship final and Test series against England.

Mayank Agarwal could get a chance to play for Indian again with the sudden dip in Gill’s form. He can be a good opener along with Rohit Sharma during the Test against England.

KL Rahul

KL Rahul has been a match-winner for India in the shorter format of cricket. But his performance in Tests matches been average over the years especially in overseas conditions. He has struggled to make runs against the pacers against a good bowling attack. Thereby, he lost his position in the team in 2019 and has not played for India since then.

But Rahul can get a nod to open for India against England. He is more mature and technically sound than other young players. So, he makes good runs alongside Rohit Sharma as an opener for India.

Rahul had also played a 149 run knock against England during the fifth Test series in 2018. It displayed his ability to make match-winning runs for the Indian Team.

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