Mayank Agarwal called up to India’s squad for the fifth Test as a cover for Rohit Sharma

Indian opener, Mayank Agarwal has been called-up by the Indian Cricket Team in England ahead of the fifth Test in Edgbaston, Birmingham. The 31-year-old batter has been added to India’s squad as a cover for Rohit Sharma.

For the unversed, Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma was tested positive for Covid-19 after batting in India’s first innings in the warm-up match between India and Leicestershire. The Indian captain has been put in isolation and his participation in the first Test is doubtful.

"Mayank is flying today as a cover for Rohit and if need be will be available for the Test match as UK Covid protocols don't require any quarantine period on landing if RT PCR test is negative," a BCCI source told PTI.

The fifth Test against England is from last year's incomplete series which got spilled to this season due to an outbreak of COVID-19 in the Indian camp. India are currently leading the series by a 2-1 margin. Mayank Agarwal, earlier, wasn’t included in India’s squad for the Test match. In his Test cricket career so far, he has played 21 Tests and has managed to score 1488 runs at an average of 41.44.

He last played a Test match for India against Sri Lanka in March at home. He didn’t have a great outing with the bat, having managed only 59 runs in 3 innings. Agarwal didn’t have a great time with the bat for Punjab in the Indian T20 League 2022 either. He managed only 196 runs in 13 matches.

With Rohit Sharma not fully fit to play the fifth Test, Mayank Agarwal could be given a chance to open the innings alongside Shubman Gill. Meanwhile, a second-string Indian side is currently playing a two-match T20I series against Ireland.

Under the leadership of Hardik Pandya, India took a 1-0 lead in the series after beating Ireland by 7 wickets in the first T20 international. The second and final T20I is slated to be played on Tuesday.