ENG vs IND | 'He's not yet been ruled out': Rahul Dravid on Rohit Sharma's availability

The Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has certainly put all the speculations to rest by providing the latest update on the captaincy conundrum for the one-off Test match against England starting July 1 at Birmingham. 

After taking part in the first day of the practice game against Leicestershire, captain Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the entire fixture after testing COVID-19 positive and is undergoing isolation. 

On June 29 (Wednesday), Dravid reckoned that the 35-year-old is not yet ruled out of the red-ball match. He stressed the fact that 36 hours still remain for the fixture to get underway, and Rohit has to return with negative tests tonight and the morning of the following day to join the squad. 

"The update on Rohit is that he's being monitored by our medical team – he's not yet been ruled out," said Dravid, addressing the media. "He needs to get the negative test to be available. We'll keep monitoring that. We've still got close to 36 hours to go, so he'll have a test later tonight and one tomorrow morning as well. And then we'll see," said Dravid.

India's head coach said that the medical team will assess Rohit, and the entire squad doesn't have enough information about the health of the Indian skipper. 

"Obviously, he'll have to come out of that. It's really up to the medical team to decide on that. We've not had a chance to see him as he's in isolation, but we'll keep monitoring that situation."

Dravid didn't sufficiently entertain the media's question of Jasprit Bumrah donning the leadership role. He added that once the clarity on Rohit is received, there will be an update from the official sources. 

"It's probably better the communication comes officially from official sources," he said. "Once we have exact clarity on Rohit, you'll hear something from the official sources. It's not for me to give out official communication."

India are leading the series by 2-1, and are on the cusp of securing their first Test series victory in England after 2007. However, the home team will be confident after a series whitewash against New Zealand.