4 players who might not feature in India's Test squad to face England

After annihilating Afghanistan in the one-off Test in Bangalore, India's next assignment will be a much sterner one as they head out of the comfort of their home to take on Joe Root's England. India have struggled overseas for ages but many feel that this is their best chance at returning home with a series win.

Virat Kohli's side performed admirably in the Test series against South Africa and could have sneaked a series victory if a couple of things had gone their way. However, that wasn't to be and they returned empty-handed. Kohli will take heart from the fact that they competed in all the matches though and will want more of the same from his men.

India's Test squad seems more or less settled except for a couple of slots which are still up for grabs. They might, however, opt for a couple of changes just to shake things up.

On that note, here are four players who might not feature in India's Test squad to take on England later this year:

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Mayank Agarwal

Karnataka batsman Mayank Agarwal caught everyone's eyes in the 2017-18 domestic season where he scored runs across all three formats. Unfortunately, he couldn't carry on his form to the IPL as he hardly contributed with the bat for his side Kings XI Punjab.

In spite of his inability to score runs in the IPL, Mayank Agarwal is a good batsman in the first-class format and the right-hander has done everything he can to get a place in the Indian Test side by scoring 1160 runs in the Ranji Trophy last season at an average of 105.45.

The numbers suggest his quality but unfortunately, he might not be picked in the Indian Test squad for the England tour as the team management already have their task cut out in picking the two openers from Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul and naming the fourth opener in the squad will only add to their selection headache.

Navdeep Saini

One can easily say that this is the best fast bowling line-up India have ever had at their disposal before touring England.

In Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya, India are likely to have as many as six fast bowling options for England with Shardul Thakur as the back-up (since he was included in the actual Test squad against Afghanistan) and it is certain that not more than four pacers will make it to the Indian playing XI.

Navdeep Saini has bowled very well for Delhi in the domestic circuit and was rewarded with a call-up to the Test side for the one-off Afghanistan Test where he replaced Shami after the Bengal fast bowler failed the Yo-Yo Test.

Shami, who was working hard with India's trainer Shankar Basu ahead of the Afghan Test, is one of India's go-to bowlers in Tests and he will be an automatic selection once he clears the test.

Rohit Sharma

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Rohit Sharma has been India's best batsman in ODIs alongside Virat Kohli but the Mumbaikar has failed to grab the chances that have come his way in the longer formats.

After showing some glimpses of what he can do in the format in the series against Sri Lanka last year, the Indian ODI vice-captain failed to prove himself in South Africa, where he was given the nod ahead of India's most reliable overseas batsman Ajinkya Rahane before making way for him in the third and final Test.

Rohit was eventually left out of the Indian side for the Afghanistan Test and Karun Nair was roped in as his replacement. In all likelihood, this might again be the case when the Test squad for England is picked.

Kuldeep Yadav

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Without a doubt, Kuldeep Yadav has been India's go-to man in limited-overs cricket as he, along with Yuzvendra Chahal have shared a lot of success for the Men in Blue of late.

But, the same cannot be said of his place in the Test side as he is the third-choice spinner behind R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. He was in the Indian squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan but the Indian selectors have the habit of naming just two spinners when the team travels overseas.

Without any disrespect to Kuldeep's potential, it is very unlikely that he will be in the flight to England for the Test series ahead of Jadeja and Ashwin.