KL Rahul Set To Miss England Series, Hardik Pandya Could Captain vs Ireland: Report

Senior opener KL Rahul is all set to miss the 'fifth' Test against England in Birmingham next month while all-rounder Hardik Pandya might lead the team against Ireland.

Senior opener KL Rahul is all set to miss the 'fifth' Test against England in Birmingham next month as he is unlikely to recover from a groin injury that forced him out of the ongoing T20I series against South Africa. In another development, Hardik Pandya is likely to captain the white-ball squad in England as Rishabh Pant, who is currently leading the T20 side, will join the Indian Test squad in UK only after the South Africa series.

"Rahul has not recovered from his groin injury. The Test squad members are assembling in Mumbai today and will fly out midnight. Rahul is not travelling with the team. He will take some more time to recover although he might appear in a fitness test during weekend. Chances of recovery aren't looking bright," a BCCI official privy to development told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

All the players, except Pant, are leaving for England early Thursday for the July 1-5 contest, notable being skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.

It is understood that since there is only one Test match, which is a spill-over from the 2021 series, the selectors are still not thinking about KL Rahul's replacement as of now.

"You have Shubman Gill, who has opened in most of his Test matches. Else, Cheteshwar Pujara can also open the batting, in case there is any fitness issues for any of the two openers. It was a 17-member squad and 16 will be going. So that's not a problem," the source added.