India’s opening options for the England tour: Who could split the Rohit-Gill axis?

For their four-month-long tour to England, India’s Test squad features five batsmen who have opened the innings at least once in the format. Aadya Sharma takes a look at the options in front of India for the series.

Since the end of their last tour to England in 2018, India have tried six different opening pairs, but barring one mammoth stand (worth 317 runs) there have been no 100+ partnerships. A look at India’s opening options for the World Test Championship, and the five Tests against England that follow.

First-choice combination

Rohit Sharma

1,030 runs @ 64.37, 4 100s, HS: 212

Shubman Gill

378 runs @ 34.36, HS: 91

The incumbent opening pair, Rohit and Gill earned their spots at the top after a successful showing in Australia. Since then, though, their returns have reduced considerably, with nine innings now without a fifty-plus stand. Rohit has managed to resurrect his Test career admirably, and averages 81.75 in his last five innings, even though there might still be doubts about his abilities under overcast skies in England. Gill, on the other hand, started strong, but trailed off in the recent England series, with one fifty in seven innings, after which he also had a lacklustre IPL, averaging just 18.85.

The two are still the first-choice pair, but a failure or two early on would quickly heighten the possibility of the two being separated at the top.

Next best

Mayank Agarwal

1,005 runs @ 47.85, 3 100s, HS: 243

The strongest contender to displace one of Rohit or Gill at the top, Mayank’s Test progress has decelerated just as quickly as his rise. In the first year of his career, Mayank’s technically sound yet aggressive approach saw him collect bucketloads of runs (including two double centuries in his first eight Tests), but the last year has been a string of listless returns. He has just one fifty in his last nine innings but is immediately next in line if one of Rohit or Gill has to be excluded.

Outside bets

Hanuma Vihari

21 runs @ 10.50, 0 100s, HS: 13

Vihari isn’t a straightforward opening choice and is known more in Test cricket for his dogged batting in the middle order. He opened once during the 2018/19 Australia tour, where his role was limited to blunting the new ball (he managed 21 runs in two innings). His batting has grown since then, as have his Test credentials after his Sydney heroics. He also carries the benefit of spending time in England with his recent county stint. With little space in the middle order, Vihari stands an outside chance of facing the new ball, but only if one of the first three options drop out for some reason.

KL Rahul

1,915 runs @ 36.82, 5 100s, HS: 199

The least likely option in the set, Rahul might be a conventional opener (and a really good one at that in limited-overs) but is still waiting to play his first Test since 2019. At one point, he hit seven consecutive Test fifties and has also scored five Test centuries as an opener. A lot of time (and runs off Mayank’s bat) have flown since then, but Rahul will take confidence from his last England visit in 2018, where he turned around a poor tour with a fourth-innings 149 in the final Test.

Also there

Abhimanyu Easwaran

Uncapped

Among the standbys, Abhimanyu Easwaran is also part of the contingent, and boasts of a solid domestic CV. In 64 first-class games, he has 4,401 runs @ 43.57, with 13 100s and a high score of 233. Known for his technically strong style and a massive appetite for runs, the young Easwaran is set to gain plenty in terms of experience but is unlikely to get any game time, unless something hugely dramatic happens.