India vs South Africa 2019: Test team selection: Rahul may get axe, focus on Easwaran, Gill

1. KL Rahul may get the axe

Rahul has been going through a modest patch as reflected in his two fifty-plus scores in the last 27 innings. His last 50-plus score was the 149 against England at the Oval in 2018. Since then, he has made several starts and promised better and bigger innings. But it never happened and the latest example was the first Test against the West Indies at Antigua when made 38 and 44.

2. Who are in contention for opener's slot

Despite a lean outing against the West Indies, Mayank Agarwal, who made his Test debut against Australia earlier this year, is certain to get another chance. If the selectors indeed drop Rahul, then they have Vidarbha opener Abhimanyu Easwaran, a heavy scorer in domestic cricket and for India A, Gujarat opener Priyank Panchal and Punjab opener Shubman Gill to consider. They will be looked for the reserve opener's role with Agarwal getting united with Rohit Sharma at the pole position.

3. Other contenders

Even though the Alipore court has stayed the arrest warrant against Mohammed Shami for the time being, he could face trouble over legal proceedings over a domestic violence complaint. If the selectors want to give him some time to set things right, pacer Navdeep Saini could come in picture. He is a proven bowler with red ball in domestic cricket and his India debut against the West Indies in T20I too was impressive.

4. The possible squad

Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav.