Captain Rohit Sharma isn’t officially ruled out of India’s rescheduled fifth Test versus England in Birmingham beginning on Friday. But if he does miss out, it will be “a big loss” for India, agreed Dawid Malan.

The England limited overs top-order batsman, however, believes India do have the firepower in their bench if Rohit fails to regain match fitness after recovery from Covid-19 and misses the Test.

“Whenever you lose your leader, who’s also one of your best batters, it’s incredibly tough for your team,” Malan told a select group of reporters on Wednesday. “Still, there are some very experienced cricketers in the Indian team and very good batters that are on the sidelines. And they could all fill in for Rohit.

“It will be a big loss if he doesn’t play, but only time will tell how big a loss that could be,” the 34-year-old added.

Malan believes Ben Stokes and his troops will continue with their aggressive brand of cricket, which was pivotal to England’s recent 3-0 series sweep over New Zealand.

“Birmingham, historically, has been a really good wicket. The ball turns as the game goes on. But England will still try to play in exactly the same way, though India obviously have some fantastic bowlers.

“I think the whole of English cricket would want Stokes and Co. to keep playing that way. So hopefully, they can still continue to impress as they have been and push those limits,” he added.

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