India vs England 5th Test: Team India departs to UK; injured KL Rahul misses out

It is the suspended Test from 2021 after a Covid-19 outbreak in Indian team after the 4th Test.

The fifth India vs England Test was scheduled to take place in Old Trafford, Manchester, then but then it was shifted to Birmingham.

India are currently leading the series 2-1. England have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead over New Zealand in the current series and are playing some bright cricket at the moment.

In that context, things will not be easy for India in the one-off Test. India have also undergone some big changes since that 2021 series. Virat Kohli has stepped down from Test captaincy while Ravi Shastri’s tenure as head coach has also ended.

Now, Rohit Sharma is the captain of the side and Rahul Dravid is the head coach. Similarly, Ajinkya Rahane, the senior batter, is no longer part of the side, discarded ahead of the home series against Sri Lanka.

Cheteshwar Pujara, who too was dropped for the Sri Lanka series, has just about managed to come back to the team after a successful county stint in the last couple of months.

KL Rahul misses

But the big for team India will be KL Rahul, who is recuperating from an injury. The Bangalore batter was ruled out of the home T20Is against South Africa after a groin injury and he has not travelled to England.

“Rahul has not recovered from his groin injury. The Test squad members are assembling in Mumbai and will fly out midnight. Rahul is not travelling with the team. He will take some more time to recover although he might appear in a fitness test during the weekend. Chances of recovery aren’t looking bright,” a BCCI told PTI.

It is understood that since there is only one Test match, which is a spill-over from the 2021 series, the selectors are still not thinking about KL Rahul’s replacement as of now.

“You have Shubman Gill, who has opened in most of his Test matches. Else, Cheteshwar Pujara can also open the batting, in case there is any fitness issues for any of the two openers. It was a 17-member squad and 16 will be going. So that’s not a problem,” the source added.