5 challenges for India before the England tour

India may have failed to win the Test leg of their tour to South Africa, which concluded on Saturday, but they rose to the occasion and how in the limited-overs leg and how, winning both the ODI and T20I series, courtesy some superb individual performances.

However, result in whites for the Virat Kohli-led side did indicate that there were a few chinks in the armour which needed improvements before they embarked for the tour of England in July, where they will look to regain the Pataudi Trophy.

Here are the five challenges that Kohli and his men will need to address before that.

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Over-reliance on Virat Kohli the batsman

Even before India embarked on the tour to South Africa, it was expected out of Kohli to be the batting leader for India, even though there were other capable players in the squad.

However, as it turned out, not only was he most supreme India batsman on-show but towards the end of the series and also the tour, it almost became the Kohli vs South Africa show as the right-hander stood firm even as the rest of his soldiers fell around him.

While Kohli's brilliance is a big positive for India, a sense of over-reliance on him is not good signs for India going forward and it would help him and the team if the others, too, stood up and performed in the Old Blighty.

Is Hardik Pandya the right answer to India's seam-bowling allrounder conundrum?

In England, if picked, Pandya will once again have a key role to play

India played Hardik Pandya in all three Tests in South Africa, but the Baroda all-rounder looked impressive only in parts, failing to sustain either with bat or ball over a consistent period of time.

In England, if picked, Pandya will once again have a key role to play and he will need to step up, especially with the ball in hand, by picking up a few wickets to ease the load on the rest of the main bowlers.

Pandya has shown in recent times that he can be useful with the bat in hand, lower down the order. In England, he will need to show he can be equally effective with the ball as well.

India's slip catching woes

Various fielders have been tried, but none have come close to being called as the perfect fit for India in the cordon

There was a time, not too long ago, when India had one of the safest pairs in the slip cordon in the form of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, who caught almost everything that came their way.

However, since their retirement in 2012, the team has found it hard to get any reliable fielders marshall that area of the field with as much confidence as the duo did during their time.

Various fielders have been tried, but none have come close to being called as the perfect fit for India in the cordon.

Rohit Sharma and his way forward in Tests

Sharma will need to show better application and make bigger contributions

Rohit Sharma may have developed into one of India's best batsmen in the limited-overs format of the game, but the same can surely not be said of his growth as a Test player.

The team management took a big gamble in South Africa, by selecting him ahead of Ajinkya Rahane in the first two Tests of the series, but that move bore little fruit as the right-hander failed to deliver in both the games.

Moving forward, if India do think of playing the additional batsman, Sharma's name will come up again for discussion and if picked again, he will need to show better application and make bigger contributions to the team's cause.

It would also help the management to have alternate options for Sharma in the number seven slot.

The Opening partnership headache

In England, where pitches are expected to have grass, the opening duo will need to stand up

One of the big reasons why Kohli had to churn out a bulk of India's runs in the tour to South Africa is because the opening partnership hardly gave him a start to work upon.

The management tried all three openers on tour- Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and Murali Vijay- but not one pair proved to be successful on wickets that demanded patience and application on their part.

In England, where pitches are expected to have grass, the opening duo will need to stand up and be counted for else India could face the possibility of exposing the middle-order sooner than what they would like.