"The Indian team will definitely miss him" - Saba Karim on KL Rahul's unavailability for the 5th Test vs England

Saba Karim believes KL Rahul's absence for the upcoming fifth and final Test against England will be a huge blow to Team India.

Rahul was India's second-highest run-scorer in the four Tests that were played last year. His 315 runs at a decent average of 39.37 were only behind fellow opener Rohit Sharma's 368-run tally.

During a discussion on India News, Saba Karim pointed out that Rahul's unavailability will be a setback for Team India. He reasoned:

"Only one player is not available at the moment, that is KL Rahul. The way he had performed in the Test matches last year, the two Test matches India had won, KL Rahul had a huge contribution. So the Indian team will definitely miss him."

However, the former Indian keeper-batter added that the Karnataka opener's absence presents a massive opportunity for Shubman Gill. Saba elaborated:

"As per reports, Shubman Gill will get a chance instead of him. It is a huge opportunity for Shubman Gill. Shubman Gill will have a very important role because he is an attacking player, he is technically capable of batting here and scoring runs. It will be very good for us if Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill have a good partnership."

Gill missed out on the first four Tests of the series due to injury. The lanky batter has amassed 558 runs in the 10 Tests he has played for India to date, including 36 runs against New Zealand in the World Test Championship final, which is the only Test he has played in England to date.

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"It is a huge responsibility for Rohit Sharma" - Saba Karim on KL Rahul's absence

Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul strung together a 126-run partnership at Lord's

Saba Karim feels the onus will now be on Rohit Sharma to give the Indian innings a solid start. He explained:

"It is a huge responsibility for Rohit Sharma. He had given fantastic starts to India in the Test matches that were played last year. There will be similar expectations from him this time as well. It is extremely important in England, where conditions keep changing a lot, that if you get a good start, you can post a massive total."

The 54-year-old also highlighted the bold calls Team India took last time around. Saba observed:

"India played bold cricket last year, they batted first after winning the toss in tough conditions, very few teams go to the ground with that approach. Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma will have to pay attention to all these things."

The Indian team will certainly hope that Rohit and Shubman give them a solid start. With most of their players heading into the game with not much long-format cricket behind them, how the openers tackle the new ball could decide the course of the match.