Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid. (Photo: BCCI)

While keeping mum regarding India’s starting XI for the crucial fifth Test against England, head coach Rahul Dravid did say that he had his combinations planned out according to various circumstances.

India’s starting lineup would be decided on the basis of the pitch’s behaviour and, most crucially, Rohit Sharma’s development before the Edgbaston Test, according to Dravid.

Next Few Hours Are Crucial: Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid (Image Credit: Twitter)

Although Rohit has not yet been ruled out, the coach emphasised that the next three hours are essential. However, India will be without their skipper and one opening short if Rohit does not in fact return a negative Test. 

A replacement for Rohit was called up: Mayank Agarwal. The Karnataka opener would have been the best top-order companion for Shubman Gill in a perfect world. But when Dravid said that the management is considering two other candidates in addition to Agarwal to replace Rohit as the opener, he truly made things intriguing and raised the suspense factor. 

“We’ll make a decision. We will weigh a lot of factors. Obviously, Mayank is a regular opener. someone who opens regularly. We have other options too; Bharat himself has opened in a lot of games for Andhra and showed in that side game that he is batting superbly at the moment.

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KS Bharat
KS Bharat. Image-BCCI

He scored a 70 and 40 (43) opening the batting. We got him to open in that innings keeping a lot of things in mind,” Dravid said during a press conference. 

Cheteshwar Pujara Has Got A Lot Of Great Quality: Rahul Dravid

Cheteshwar Pujara was Dravid’s third potential choice. In reality, Pujara has opened in seven innings and has scored 395 runs, including two half-centuries and an unbeaten 145 against Sri Lanka in 2015. He has been India’s rock at No. 3 for years. 

Cheteshwar Pujara
Cheteshwar Pujara. Credits: BCCI

“Pujara has got a lot of great quality. He has opened for India as well in the past. So I would not want to give things away but like I said, in our minds, we are clear in the direction we are going. We will see what happens to Rohit but I am not at the liberty to disclose the Playing XI. But we have clarity,” added Dravid. 

Also Read: IND vs ENG: Rahul Dravid Not Focusing At All On What England’s Done