India’s regular captain Rohit Sharma has tested positive for Covid-19 which could put him in doubt for the rescheduled fifth and final Test versus England, beginning from July 1 at Edgbaston.

Rohit is in isolation at the team hotel in Leicester, where the Indians have been playing a warm-up game versus Leicestershire. If the protocols for the ongoing England-New Zealand Test series are followed, Rohit’s isolation would then last for a period of five days.

“Team India captain Mr Rohit Sharma has tested positive for Covid-19 following a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) conducted on Saturday. He is currently in isolation at the team hotel and is under the care of the BCCI medical team,” said a BCCI statement.

According to the statement, Rohit was also supposed to undergo an RT-PCR test, which would ascertain his CT value.

The news of Rohit testing positive came through after the third day’s play of the warm-up game against Leicestershire. He had scored 25 in the first innings but didn’t bat in the second.

Last week, photos of maskless Rohit and former captain Virat Kohli posing with fans in England had gone viral. With barely four days remaining for the England Test, the Indian camp would certainly pray for a quick recovery of Rohit as his absence would unsettle plans and that’s problematic in alien, English conditions. That’s irrespective of whether James Anderson plays or not.

Rohit, alongside KL Rahul (who’s already out injured), was India’s best batsman in the four Tests of the five-match series against England last year, aggregating 368 runs at an average of 52.27. He had scored a hundred at The Oval, where India won to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the unfinished series.

The fifth and final Test had to be postponed due to Covid concerns in the Indian camp.

The India quicks were consistent for most part of those four Tests and the vulnerable England batting order had made matters easier for the Indian team. But none can deny the impact Rohit and Rahul had with their strong starts.

With Rahul too unavailable, it remains to be seen who captains India in the Edgbaston Test in case Rohit fails to recover and be match fit in time. That decision, though, will be taken only after chief selector reaches England from Dublin.

Will the team management ask Kohli to take up the role for the Test? Or, will senior pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who was Rohit’s deputy during the home Tests versus Sri Lanka earlier in the year, be assigned the job?

Besides, India will also have to look for a new opening pair and be extra careful in making that decision. Mayank Agarwal, though, has been asked to stay on standby.