Indian stalwart Rohit Sharma's captaincy has been under heavy scrutiny after back-to-back series losses against New Zealand and Australia.
With the upcoming England Test tour only a few months away, questions have been raised about his future.
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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly prepared a list of 35 players for both the main team and the India 'A' team ahead of the Test series in England.
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However, Sharma's recent performances in the red-ball format haven’t been very encouraging as the team massively underperformed in the 0-3 defeat at home to New Zealand.
It was followed by another series loss against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) where they won just one out of the five Test matches. The series loss meant India were unable to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final to be held in June in England.
Sharma missed the first test due to personal issues. He was back in the lineup for the next two matches but didn't have much of an impact. Owing to his poor performances, the skipper decided to sit out for the last test at the SCG while Jasprit Bumrah took over the reins.
Let's see if the Indian cricket board has continued to put their trust on the current skipper or if they will be looking at other alternatives.
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Will Rohit Sharma captain India in IND vs ENG Tests?
According to a report from the Times of India, Sharma is likely to remain the captain in the red-ball format despite his recent string of poor performances.
A source from the BCCI said, "Rohit is most likely to travel as the board feels that one needs a strong captain through the series, which is likely to be as tough as the Australia tour."
The Test series vs England will kick-start a fresh WTC cycle, which India will look to start strongly after missing out this year.
The board find themselves in great dilemma for fixing the no. 5 and 6 position in the batting lineup as they are looking at the likes of Karun Nair and Rajat Patidar who have proved to be seasoned red-ball cricketers.
What is Rohit Sharma's record in Away Tests?
Sharma's test record away from the sub-continent could be headache for the fans of the Indian cricket team. In 33 matches, he has scored just 1766 runs with a sub-par average of 30.98.
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| Matches | Innings | Runs | Highest score | Average | Strike-rate | 50s/100s |
| 33 | 61 | 1766 | 127 | 30.98 | 47.93 | 10/2 |
What is Rohit Sharma's Test record in England?
Sharma has fared well on English soil, as he has notched up 524 runs with a fairly good average of 40.30.
| Matches | Innings | Runs | Highest score | Average | Strike-rate | 50s/100s |
| 7 | 14 | 524 | 127 | 40.30 | 44.03 | 2/1 |
What is Rohit Sharma's record vs England in Tests?
Sharma has played 5 test matches vs England, where he has bagged 402 runs at an average over 44.50. He also has a century to his name.
| Matches | Innings | Runs | Highest score | Average | Strike-rate | 50s/100s |
| 5 | 10 | 402 | 127 | 44.66 | 42.09 | 2/1 |
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