Fans wonder about Rohit Sharma's whereabouts as Team India's images on way to ENG go viral

The Indian Men's Cricket Team departed for London to play against England in a one-off Test match and a number of while-ball games, slated to commence on July 1. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released photos of Indian cricketers boarding a plane to the United Kingdom on Thursday. Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mohammed Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah are among the players spotted in the BCCI's pictures on Twitter. 

However, one of the key faces missing from the pictures was skipper Rohit Sharma. Sharma is expected to lead Team India in the deferred 5th Test match, three T20Is, and as many One-Day Internationals from July 1 to July 17. However, when the Mumbai-based cricketer was not shown in the photos shared by the BCCI, his supporters became concerned regarding his whereabouts.

Sharma, meanwhile, recently shared a video on Instagram, wherein he can be seen promoting the Spanish top-division football league, La Liga. The video was posted on June 14. It is yet unclear as to why Sharma was not spotted in the pictures shared by the BCCI.  Meanwhile, according to the latest update by PTI, Rohit Sharma will be leaving for England on the early morning of 17th June.

India and England will play three Twenty20 Internationals and as many ODIs after the one-off Test match. The Test will be played as part of a five-match series that India and England played in August and September of last year. Team India was forced to depart England due to the emergence of COVID-19 cases inside the camp after the conclusion of the fourth Test last year. The fifth match was therefore postponed until 2022. India are currently leading the series 2-1.

Since they met in the Test series last year, a lot has changed for both India and England in terms of lineup. Both teams have new captains in the form of Rohit Sharma and Ben Stokes. India and England also have new coaches in Rahul Dravid and Brendon McCullum. The last time the two sides locked horns against each other, Virat Kohli was the captain of the Indian team, while Joe Root was the captain of England. 

India's squad for England Test

India’s Test squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohd Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Prasidh Krishna. 

Image: PTI