Selectors expect three-way fight for Virat Kohli's No.4 spot in England: Shubman Gill, KL Rahul or Karun Nair

By our Special Correspondent

India’s Test batting is again at the crossroads following the retirements of Kohli and Rohit Sharma within a week, the two immediate all-format captains. Their combined numbers, while not as intimidating as the Dravid-Laxman duo, are still formidable – 190 appearances, 13,531 runs, 42 hundreds. When Dravid and Laxman walked away into the sunset, a certain Sachin Tendulkar (who wouldn’t retire until November 2013) was still going strong. There is no such consolation now, not with a demanding five-Test series in England starting five weeks hence.

            KL Rahul, who cut his teeth in the five-day game in December 2014, looms as India’s most experienced specialist batter, though 3,257 runs and an average of 33.57 from 58 appearances aren’t exactly out of the topmost drawer. There is a fair sprinkling of experience – Ravindra Jadeja is the country’s seniormost active Test cricketer, having debuted in December 2012, while Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill (the projected new captain) and Yashasvi Jaiswal aren’t exactly babes in the woods.