Madhya Pradesh batter Rajat Patidar has joined the Indian team in Hyderabad ahead of the first Test against England, starting on Thursday (January 25) as a replacement for star batter Virat Kohli, who had withdrawn his name from the squad for the first two matches due to personal reasons.

30-year-old Patidar had recently scored 111 and 151 against England Lions in successive matches, and was the front-runner in the race to get the call-up with veteran Cheteshwar Pujara, and Sarfaraz Khan also reportedly in contention.

As per a Cricbuzz report, Patidar, who recently made his ODI debut in South Africa, also attended the BCCI Awards function on Tuesday. He is unlikely to feature in the playing XI for the first of the five-match Test series, but will provide back-up for a last-minute injury or illness, or if there is the need of a concussion substitute during the match.

Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer are likely to occupy numbers 3, 4, and 5 in the batting order with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat to take the number 6 and 7 spot.

Earlier on Tuesday, Rinku Singh was added to India A's squad for the second unofficial Test against England Lions, to be played from Wednesday in Ahmedabad, paving the way for Patidar to join the senior side in Hyderabad.

(With Cricbuzz inputs)