India vs England: Mayank Agarwal likely to open in Test series; Mohammed Siraj could get a go

Mumbai, July 8: As India gear up for the Test series against England, beginning on August 4 at Trent Bridge, team combination has been in discussion big time. The first indication of a change came when opener Shubman Gill was ruled out of the series with a shin injury that may taken 6 to 8 weeks to heal completely.

It has been emerged that Mayank Agarwal is the front-runner to join Rohit Sharma at the top as opener as the selectors do not want to flow in Prithvi Shaw as a replacement. Shaw is currently in Sri Lanka with the India squad under Shikhar Dhawan.

There have been discussions between the Indian team management in England and chief selector Chetan Sharma but the latter is more inclined for the team to pick an opener from the available options within the squad such as Agarwal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran etc.

Similarly, the Indian team combination for the WTC Final against New Zealand at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton, last month too came under a lot of discussion. India went in with three pacers in Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami and two spinners in R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

India could be sticking with the five-bowler approach at least early in the Test series, and that means Hanuma Vihari could be warming the benches for some more time unless he gets a chance to open ahead of Agarwal. It's unlikely at the moment.

Even if India persists with the five-bowler approach, the management could give a go to pacer Mohammad Siraj, who impressed all from his debut series against Australia away from home earlier this year.

In that case, Siraj could come in for Ishant. The veteran pacer had picked up three wickets in the WTC Final but it is believed that Siraj could give more penetration to Indian bowling in English conditions.