Senior opener KL Rahul is all set to miss the 'fifth' Test against England in Birmingham next month as he is unlikely to recover from a groin injury that forced him out of the ongoing T20I series against South Africa.
"Rahul has not recovered from his groin injury. The Test squad members are assembling in Mumbai today 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 weekend. Chances of recovery aren't looking bright," a BCCI official said.
All the players, except Pant, are leaving for England early Thursday for the July 1-5 contest, notable being skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.
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.
Hardik to lead India
Indian Premier League winning captain Hardik Pandya was deservingly named skipper of the Indian team for the two-match T20I series against Ireland in Dublin on June 26 and 28.
The only new face in the side is Maharashtra right-hand batter Rahul Tripathi, who was rewarded for his stellar batting during this edition of IPL where he scored more than 400 runs for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Pandya, who is Rishabh Pant's deputy in the current T20I series against South Africa, was elevated to the leadership role and will join the Test squad in England after the completion of the home series.
Sanju Samson, whose profligacy has been well documented over the years, gets another shot at redemption, as he made a comeback for the series, having guided Rajasthan Royals to the IPL final.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been named vice-captain for the series.