The opening batsman for India, Mayank Agarwal, has been selected for the forthcoming Edgbaston Test against England, which will begin on July 1. Late on Monday, Agarwal will join the rest of the Indian team. According to the most recent travel advice, Agarwal won’t need to quarantine upon arrival.
Thus, this will make him available to play in the match immediately if required. Agarwal, 31, had initially been left off the team, but KL Rahul’s injury and questions about Rohit Sharma’s availability because of Covid-19 have now created an opening.
During the home series against Sri Lanka in March, when Agarwal last played a test, he only managed 59 runs from two games, averaging 19.66. His most recent red-ball appearance occurred in June for Karnataka against Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals.
Mayank Agarwal to take part in England Edgbaston Test
Agarwal’s recent performance hasn’t been great; in his first season leading Punjab Kings in the IPL, he only managed 196 runs at an average of 16.33. Due to Agarwal’s poor performance, former India head coach Ravi Shastri hypothesised that his inability to handle the responsibilities of serving as captain may have lost him a spot in the one-off Test.
“I love the kid. I know how he plays his cricket, how determined he is. But it’s putting a guy who is very good at what he does in a wrong place,”
“And it can have problems. Serious problems. Serious repercussions. It could have cost him his place in the Indian side.”
“Test side, everything, because the selectors will judge on current form, they will judge on what they actually see.”
The series from last year, which was put on hold because to a Covid-19 outbreak among the India team, comes to a finish with the test in Birmingham. Agarwal, who was a member of that team and was expected to start every game, suffered a concussion days before the opening game of the series.
Rahul, who had scored 315 runs in eight innings and was India’s second-highest run-scorer, was given the opportunity.
Meanwhile, the 5th Test between India and England has apparently had its start time adjusted to accommodate viewers from the Indian subcontinent. After the initial matchup between the two teams, originally set for Manchester, was postponed due to covid difficulties, the fifth and final game of the five-match series will take place at The Edgbaston.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has opted to advance the start of play for the Birmingham Test by 30 minutes, the Daily Mail reported. The start time of the India-England match will be earlier than the typical 11 AM (local time) start time for test matches in England.
