4 Opening Combinations India Could Try In The England Test Series

India will be missing the services of Shubman Gill in the test series against England and this will be an opportunity to try out new opening combinations. Shubman Gill was recently ruled out due to an injury and no replacement has been named for the Indian opener.

However, enough opening batters are waiting in the wings with the squad and this will be the best time to try out those players at the top of the order. Batting in England is one of the toughest things and if the opener does make it through this series, he will certainly be looked like a future prospect. Here are 4 opening combinations India could try in the England Test series.

4 Opening Combinations India Could Try In The England Test Series:

Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal:

Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal have shared a lot of great partnerships in the limited time they have opened together and they started off with a monumental 317 run partnership against India in the first-ever match they opened together.

Rohit looks like a certainty at the top of the order and he opened in the World Test Championship too. Mayank Agarwal on the other hand hasn’t done much wrong to be left out and he will be looking to make a strong comeback in the England series. This will be the first choice opening combination for the England series.

Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul:

This might be another opening combination that could be tried out as KL Rahul has been in tremendous form in the limited-overs left for India. Rahul has had decent numbers opening for India in tests and he has got the experience ahead of someone like Agarwal by playing in the 2018 series.

Rahul finished off the series with a brisk 149 which showed that he still can make it big while opening and hence he might be pushed again at the top. Recently, there has been talks of Rahul being seen as an option in the middle order, but there is a possibility of Rohit and Rahul opening in the England series.

Rohit Sharma and Hanuma Vihari:

Rohit Sharma and Hanuma Vihari have never opened together in tests and they have most often fought for a spot in the middle order rather than the top order in tests. However, Vihari’s excellent technique in tests and his temperament have led to Vihari being seen as an opening option.

Vihari has the experience of playing in England in the 2018 series and he is coming off from with some county exposure too. He has batted in the opening position for India in the Australia series and he can be a resistive force at the top to use. However, there have been talks of Vihari preferring to play in the middle order.

Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul:

KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal have had numerous partnerships together for Karnataka in domestic tournaments as well for India ‘A’. They also open together for the Punjab franchise in IPL and they do have some chemistry going while opening in big tournaments.

This is one of the highly unlikely opening pairs for India in the series against England but this could be a possibility if Rohit shows the poor form with the bat or he gets injured. Rahul and Agarwal have opened together for India in tests in the past but this might be a big one considering both haven’t been part of the playing XI in Tests for a long time now.