India head coach Gautam Gambhir will be looking for the replacement of Rohit Sharma, who is currently India’s Test captain. Gambhir also aims to build a strong middle order for India’s Test team which can serve the team for the upcoming years.
Recently, India won the Champions Trophy with Gautam Gambhir as the head coach of the team. However, India’s Test team has been on the decline for the last few months. Gambhir is adamant of reviving it.
India’s head coach also plans to travel with India A to England to have a close look at the domestic players who can be included in the Test team. Rohit Sharma’s replacement will be one of the things on his priority list.
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Gautam Gambhir set to find Rohit Sharma’s replacement
With Rohit Sharma not in his best form in Test cricket, Gautam Gambhir will be looking to find a steady reserve opener who can replace him, according to TOI. While Rohit is still expected to travel to England for the Test series as a captain, having a reserve opener will be crucial for India given his recent Test form.
Rohit Sharma has been struggling for form lately in Test cricket. The Indian captain scored just 31 runs in three Tests at an average of 6.20 and even had to drop himself from the last Test in Sydney due to poor form.
Before coming to Australia, Rohit had a tough Test season at home where he aggregated just 133 runs across five Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand at an average of 13.30. There were speculations about his retirement after these performances.
Focus on the middle order
The focus will also be on finding a solid batter in the middle order who can hold the innings together and prevent the collapses. Indian batting order has been guilty of too many collapses recently, which has led to some shocking defeats as well.
Despite the batting order not performing well, players like Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sarfaraz Khan didn’t get a game in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. Both of them are likely to feature in the India A squad for the England tour and will be looking to stake a claim in the senior team.
Along with these batters, Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair are the other two players who will be looking to impress the selectors. Sudharsan has been excellent in domestic cricket over the last few years while Nair had a breakthrough domestic season last year in all the formats.
India have been deprived of a solid batter in the middle order which has led to several batting collapses in recent times. The batters have struggled against both pace and spin, which has been a huge cause of concern.
When will India’s tour of England begin?
India will play a five-match Test series in England, which will begin from June 20 at Leeds, Headingley. It will be the beginning of the new World Test Championship cycle for both India and England.
Before the series, India A is also scheduled to travel to England, and this can have an impact on the team’s selection for the Test series. All the eyes will be on the senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as they have endured a rough time with the bat recently.
