England vs India 2018: Four players who could be picked in the Indian team for the last two Tests

When the Indian selectors picked the Indian squad for the five-match Test series against England, they didn't pick the team for all five matches. Instead, they just announced the squad for the first three matches and revealed that the squad for the last two games will be announced later.

The Indian team are having a lot of areas to address in the batting department and if the performances of the batsmen continue in the second and third Test, one can expect the selectors to take some bold calls when they announce the squad for the last two games.

In the meantime, the Indian fringe players are playing in a couple of four-day unofficial Tests against South Africa A and are knocking the doors of the selectors. It won't be a surprise if the players are rewarded for their performances in the unofficial Tests with a place in the Indian Test squad.

Let us take a look at four players who can make it to the Indian squad for the fourth and fifth Test, which will be played at Southampton and The Oval.

NOTE: Players who are not a part of the squad for the first three Test matches were considered.

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Hanuma Vihari

Hanuma Vihari has also played county cricket in Essex

Over the last couple of seasons, Andhra Pradesh batsman Hanuma Vihari has been taking consistency to a whole new level as the right-hander is piling on the runs for his team in the FC format. He has been prolific in the format ever since making his debut but over the last two seasons, his hunger for runs has increased and he is making it a habit of converting all his centuries into big daddy hundreds.

"It is more about the mindset. If you have the hunger to score those big runs, it is not too difficult. After a certain stage, the bowlers and the fielders will give up and then you can score how much ever you want. And if you see, in first-class cricket, the hundreds have become a norm now. You can see a lot of people getting hundreds, even the bowlers are scoring hundreds. If you want to be recognized, you have to score a lot more than 100, maybe a 200 or a 300, he said in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda says his attitude when it comes to scoring runs.

Vihari averages 60 after playing 61 FC matches for Andhra, India A and South Zone in which he has scored 4940 runs. He was looking solid in India A's tour of England and in the ongoing unofficial Test against South Africa A, he was looking to score a big one before he was run out for 54. He is a batsman in the Cheteshwar Pujara mould and has technique and temperament to survive in the format. With the Indian middle order struggling, it won't be a bad choice to take a gamble with Hanuma Vihari in the side.

Mayank Agarwal

If players like Mayank Agarwal are not rewarded, what is the point of players playing domestic cricket?

It seems like Karnataka batsman Mayank Agarwal just can't stop scoring runs. By scoring 2162 runs in 32 innings at an average of 67.56 runs per innings across all the domestic tournaments last season, Mayank created history by scoring the most runs by an Indian batsman in a single domestic season, overtaking his India A skipper Shreyas Iyer.

He didn't stop there as he was in fine form for India A in both First-Class and List A matches in England last month and carried on his run-scoring form to the ongoing first of the two unofficial Tests against South Africa in Bengaluru.

Mayank scored a swashbuckling 220 off just 251 balls to put his team in command. With the Indian openers struggling in England and Mayank knocking on the selectors' doors with some consistent performances, it shouldn't be a surprise if the right-hander gets his deserving maiden national call-up.

Prithvi Shaw

The future of Indian cricket

Not only Mayank Agarwal but also his opening partner, Prithvi Shaw is just mounting the pressure on the Indian selectors to pick him in the national squad by putting on some fine performances with the bat irrespective of the format.

Prithvi has been pretty consistent with the bat ever since he made his first-class debut for Mumbai. He was very consistent in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy before he traveled to New Zealand to lead India to victory in the under-19 World Cup. Since returning from the under-19 World Cup, it has been clearly visible that Shaw has taken his game to the next level and has become more mature as a batsman in spite of his weakness (foot movement).

The teenager had a brilliant debut IPL season with Delhi Daredevils and followed it up with a brilliant tour of England with India A where he scored a handful of centuries. He carried on that form to the ongoing first unofficial Test against South Africa where he got out after scoring a steady 136, a kind of knock that won't be associated with Prithvi often.

With the Indian openers struggling in England, Prithvi's recent heroics could just give him a place in the side for the last two Test matches. He can make a big difference for Virat Kohli and co. at the top of the order as he has the ability to take on the bowlers right from word go and put pressure on them.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was successful in the 2014 England tour

Bhuvneshwar Kumar suffered a back injury during the T20I series against England and had to miss the subsequent ODI series. He was named in the Indian Test squad for the first three matches subject to fitness and was later ruled out of the matches with Shardul Thakur coming in as his replacement.

The all-rounder is back in India working on his recovery process to make a return to the national side. He is expected to be fit in time for the fourth and fifth Test and is likely to take his spot in the Indian playing XI in those two matches.

His addition will be a blessing in disguise for the team management as he has been India's premier fast bowler outside Asia of late in the format along with Ishant Sharma and his crucial contributions with the bat were missing in the first Test at Edgbaston.