India is on the tour again, this time for the final test which is to be played on the 1st July. The Indian team leads the series 2-1, after wins at Lords and Oval. The 5th match was to be played at Manchester, but a string of COVID 19 cases meant that the Test Match never took place. A lot has changed over the last year with changes in captain and playing personnel from both the sides. The Indian team were dealt a blow after it came to light that KL Rahul was out for the series.
Replacement player on standby –
KL Rahul had a great IPL for his team LSG by scoring 616 runs with the bat and leading them to the play offs. He was supposed to captain the Indian side for the T20 series against South Africa. Rahul was ruled out due to the groin injury he suffered, it has now come to light that Mayank Agarwal is on standby for the series. Agarwal last played the Bangalore test against Sri Lanka. Agarwal was curiously left out of the side for the sole test in England to be played at Birmingham.
BCCI issues statement –
The BCCI has now come out and issued a statement which reads, “Mayank has been put on standby for England tour. We have asked the team management if they need a replacement for Rahul. We should get an answer by 19th. In that case, Mayank will fly to UK with the second batch. But it’s not finalised yet”. India already have Gill as the other opener in the line up to play along side Rohit Sharma. The Indian team will also play a few T20 and ODI games during the tour of England which starts on 1st July.
Mayank Agarwal has played 21 tests for India scoring 1488 runs with an average of 41 with 4 centuries and 6 fifties with 2 double centuries. He last played in the IPL for PBKS where was thew skipper of the side, but couldn’t do much with the bat.
