Indian cricket team will be up against England for a five-match Test series, starting August 4. After the loss in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final, India would be looking to take back something positive from the United Kingdom tour. 

When India toured England last time in 2018, they lost the Test series 4-1. But the Virat Kohli-led side looked very competitive and were ahead of England a few times in the Test matches. 

With English conditions making life hard for the batsmen, India will have to ensure their batting line-up clicks at the right time. Former India cricketer Saba Karim wants Rohit Sharma to play the role of mentor for his opening partner. 

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India has lost Shubman Gill ahead of the series due to a leg injury and they will be pairing up Rohit with a new opening partner. “Talking to him [Rohit] is very necessary as he has to play a mentor's role for the other new openers coming in. The conditions are tough there for batting and if you have an opening partnership there and your top-order clicks, you create a brilliant platform to put up a big score," Karim said on India News.

"Rohit Sharma has got a different role for Team India in the last one to one-and-a-half years. I feel they have made a core group of leaders, where captain Virat Kohli is right at the top, after that vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and after that definitely if someone's name comes, it is Rohit Sharma."

Karim believes the team's fate in England depends a lot on Rohit, Kohli, and Cheteshwar Pujara. The India opener has been a regular part of the Test side since his return to the side on the Australia tour.

"A lot here depends on Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Cheteshwar Pujara - how these three batsmen catch form in the upcoming series. We all know that in his elegance, Rohit Sharma is the best batsman in the world. He was definitely struggling in Test cricket if we talk about sometime back but now he has stamped his authority in Test cricket. He is a special player as an opener, when he plays he can take the match away for the opposition in a matter of moments," Karim added.