3 reasons why Rohit Sharma's role becomes pivotal when India play England
Rohit Sharma has landed in the UK to gear up for India's rescheduled fifth Test against England, which begins on July 1 at Edgbaston. This will be his first tour as captain in overseas conditions.
He became the 35th player to lead the Indian Test side when his side played Sri Lanka earlier this year. The 35-year-old became only the second Indian Test captain to win a match by an innings on his captaincy debut in the longest format of the game.
The Mumbai Indians captain wasn't at his fluent best during the Indian Premier League (IPL). Coming into the longest format, the Indian captain will be hoping to turn that around and lead his side from the front.
#TeamIndia Test squad for the fifth rescheduled Test against England 👇👇
#ENGvIND https://t.co/USMRe0kj1i
India currently lead the five-match series 2-1, heading to Edgbaston with a chance to seal a memorable series win against the hosts. Rohit's role will be pivotal when the two sides meet in that game. In this article, we break down why that will be the case.
#1 The captain will want to lead from the front
Rohit Sharma was India's leading run-scorer in the series last year. He was colossal for the visitors, scoring 386 runs in four matches. The Nagpur-born batter scored a sensational century, scoring 127 runs in the third innings to set up India's win in the fourth Test match.
Rohit Sharma vs England in England 2021:
Matches - 4
Runs - 368
Average - 52.57
Hundred - 1
Fifty - 2
Named among Wisden's "Five cricketers of the year" - Hitman of world cricket.
https://t.co/M2atyQALh1
Rohit showed excellent temperament against the new ball, allowing India to take control of the situation on most occasions. If India are to clinch the series, the Indian captain will have to lead from the front once more.
2) The absence of KL Rahul
Hard to accept but I begin another challenge today. Gutted not to be leading the side for the first time at home, but the boys have all my support from the sidelines.Heartfelt thanks to all for your support.Wishing Rishabh and the boys all the luck for the series.See you soon🏏💙
KL Rahul was another player who was crucial to India's success on this tour. His partnerships with Rohit in the top order were one of the key reasons for India's success. The Bangalore batter scored 315 runs in four matches, including a fifty and a century.
With Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill missing out due to injuries, Rahul grabbed the opportunity with both hands to revive his Test career. His knock of 129 in the first innings of the second Test at Lord's helped India get into a position of ascendency, eventually taking a 1-0 lead in the series.
The 30-year-old was appointed as the captain for the five-match T20I series against South Africa. However, he was ruled out of the series due to a groin injury. He is expected to miss out on the England tour due to the same injury, as he travels to Germany for treatment.
His absence will be a big blow for India, making Rohit Sharma's role all the more important.
3) India's unsettled middle order
India's middle order will be a cause of concern for the visitors. While most of the attention will obviously be on Virat Kohli, the visitors will be going into the series with a slightly unsettled middle order. As always, expectations for the former Indian captain will be high.
Apart from Kohli, the likes of Hanuma Vihari and Cheteshwar Pujara are set to slot into the middle order. The latter was in fine form for Sussex in Division 2 of the County Championship, scoring 720 runs from five games at an average of 120.
Lower down the order, Ravindra Jadeja's fitness will be a cause for concern as well. With slight uncertainty around the middle order and India's recent record in one-off Tests, it'll be pivotal for the openers to see out the threat of the new ball and set the platform for the middle order.