India opener Mayank Agarwal has been ruled out of the first Test against England which will begin on Wednesday. The decision was taken after he got hit on the helmet during a training session. He had signs of concussion after being assessed by the BCCI medical team as well and was eventually ruled out of the match.
“The 30-year-old is stable and will remain under close medical observation,” stated a BCCI release on Monday (August 2).
India has already been struggling with a series of injuries after the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in June. While they won’t get the service of the young opener, Shubman Gill, for his injury, the list goes on with the likes of Washington Sundar and Avesh Khan as well as they have been ruled out of the series for injuries.
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While another opener Prithvi Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav have been added as replacements, they will have to stay in quarantine for 10 days and will be available from the third Test only. And now, with the absence of Mayank Agarwal, Team India left with the opening options with Rohit Sharma with Abhimanyu Easwaran or KL Rahul.
While KL Rahul has been in form, Easwaran too is likely made his debut as well. On the other hand, the team management might think of another option with Hanuma Vihari as well, as they did in Australia. However, the five-match Test series will begin at Trent Bridge from August 4 before both the teams move to Lord’s, Headingley, Kennington Oval and Old Trafford for the rest four test matches as well.
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However, Rahul is likely to return in white with the upcoming series. He has scored a ton in the recent practice game. In a recent interview with bcci.tv, KL Rahul has said that he was happy to play in the longer format after a long time and satisfied to score some runs as well. Notably, he scored a stable 101 before retiring in the first innings of the practice match against County Select XI which was a preparatory game for the upcoming five-match Test series against England as well.
