Kohli, Rahane rested for India's warm-up match; Avesh, Washington turn up for County Select XI

India captain Virat Kohli and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane were rested for the three-day practice match against County Select XI, which started on Tuesday (July 20) in Durham.

In Kohli's absence, Rohit Sharma was named the captain of Team India for the First-Class game. Senior spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and fast bowler Mohammed Shami were also rested for the match at the Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street.

Mayank Agarwal, who is expected to be watched keenly during the practice game, opened the innings with Rohit and scored 28 off 35 balls. While Rohit only managed nine off 33 balls.

The warm-up game has been oragnised for Team India's match practice ahead of their crucial five-game Test series against England, starting August 4 in Nottingham.

Pacer Mohammed Siraj, who stands a chance of playing the first Test ahead of senior fast bowler Ishant Sharma, would try to prove his worth in the Durham game, which is India's rare First-Class game in 10 long years.

Kohli, Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Shami, and Ashwin are expected to sweat it out at the nets, according to Indian news agency PTI. Ashwin bowled 58 overs and claimed seven wickets in a County game for Surrey last week.

First-choice keeper Rishabh Pant and senior reserve gloveman Wriddhiman Saha are still in London after the COVID-19 scare but are expected to join the team before the intra-squad game that is tentatively scheduled between July 26 and 28 at the Riverside ground.

Pant, who tested positive for coronavirus earlier this month, is believed to have returned a negative test and has more or less recovered from the infection.

Along with Pant, India's net bowler Dayanand Garani had also tested positive for the virus while staying in the team hotel. Saha and bowling coach Bharat Arun, who had come in close contact with Garnai, were forced into isolation post his positive report.

With Pant and Saha unavailable for selection, KL Rahul has donned the gloves for Team India in the ongoing First-Class game against County Select XI.

Meanwhile, in a bid to provide maximum match-practice, India decided to field their young guns Avesh Khan, right-arm seamer and Washington Sundar, off-spinner, in the County Select XI side.

The Test series between India and England will be both side's first assignment of the 2021-23 World Test Championship (WTC) Cycle.

India vs County Select XI First-Class Match: Playing XI

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

County Select XI: Haseeb Hameed, Jake Libby, Robert Yates, Washington Sundar, Will Rhodes (c), James Rew (wk), Lyndon James, Liam Patterson-White, Jack Carson, Craig Miles, Avesh Khan