IND vs ENG: Mayank Agarwal ruled out of first Test against England

The Indian team receives yet another blow ahead of the Test series against England as opening batsman Mayank Agarwal was ruled out of the opening Test after getting hit on the helmet during training session. The opener showed signs of concussion after being assessed by the BCCI medical team. “The 30-year-old is stable and will remain under close medical observation,” stated a BCCI release on Monday.

With the first Test of the five-match series to begin on Wednesday, 4 August at Trent Bridge, India is in desperate need of finding an opening partner for Rohit Sharma.

Agarwal himself was a replacement for the injured Shubman Gill who had suffered a stress injury on his left leg. However, after Mayank’s unavailibility for the first match, the team management is left with two designated options in front of them -KL Rahul and Abhimanyu Easwaran. BCCI has already sent Prithvi Shaw along with Suryakumar Yadav for the Test series in England but the two players will only be available from the second Test after completing the mandatory quarantine period.

Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane, India’s vice-captain, ruled out the possibility of Cheteshwar Pujara opening alongside Rohit. “Pujara is our No.3 batsman. Who’ll open our innings, we are again finalising our combination, it’s not yet finalised. Pujara has been really solid for us as No. 3 batsman and he’ll continue to bat at No. 3. As an opening bat, the captain, coach and management will decide the combination and you’ll get to know soon.”