King Kohli's retirement from Tests left a vacancy in India's XI ahead of their England tour. While other good players such as Rohit and Ashwin have bid farewell to the longest format of the game, India lacks depth as they embark on a tough UK series ahead. Meanwhile, Gautam Gambhir and selectors are looking to identify a constant No.4, and hard work is ongoing from Ajinkya Rahane at the MCA centre in Mumbai. Rahane, Kohli's long-term deputy and former batting partner, famously took India to a record Border-Gavaskar Trophy victory in Australia while Kohli was absent. That series drew praise from fans, but ever since the Gabba triumph, he has struggled to hold onto a place within the team. Following a avarage spell in South Africa in January 2022, the 36-year-old Rahane was left out. He returned for the 2023 World Test Championship Final, where he scored most for the side and even captained the side as vice-captain in the West Indies. But hasn't been part of India's Test squad in the last two years. No rest days 🏏 pic.twitter.com/Uew50SpBPm — Ajinkya Rahane (Parody) (@Beast_xx_) May 12, 2025 In this period, Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir have experimented with some players with limited success. Sarfaraz Khan, Rajat Patidar, and Devdutt Padikkal had their debut, and KL Rahul shifted down the middle order. Kohli is unavailable, and India's middle order now seems weak and inexperienced. Rahane, with three previous England tours, brings in the much-needed experience. Experienced Indian opener Aakash Chopra believes that Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have utility value, at least, in the English series. Read also: Virat Kohli Retires from Tests After BGT 2024–25 Struggles Indian middle order Batsmen: Player Matches Runs Average 50s 100s Ajinkya Rahane 85 5077 38.46 26 12 KL Rahul 7 342 34.2 2 1 Shreyas Iyer 14 811 36.86 5 1 Rajat Patidar 3 63 10.5 0 0 Devdutt Padikkal 2 90 30 1 0 Sarfaraz Khan 6 371 37.1 3 1 But all veteran players were once rookies, and maybe the time has come to think about the future. Rahane's England average is just 28, with seven fifty-plus scores in 38 innings. Though he has shown glimpses of resurrection in T20s, his first-class performance remains patchy. In Ranji Trophy during this season, Rahane had scored 467 runs in the course of nine matches at 35.92 average, having scored a hundred and one fifty in 14 innings. Mumbai teammate Shreyas Iyer, by contrast, had scored more just in seven innings, nearly reaching double of Rahane's average.