Kohli retirement biggest loss for India: Boycott
Former England batter Geoffrey Boycott believes that more than Rohit Sharma's retirement, Virat Kohli's absence is a devastating blow to India ahead of the starting five-match Test series in Leeds, saying that the right-handed batter was their key player.
Both Rohit and Kohli announced their retirement from Test cricket in May, leaving India with a big void to fill in the longer format at opening and number four positions respectively. Kohli, 36, scored 9,230 runs in 123 Tests and was at fourth place in India's all-time list of run-scorers in the longer format.
'The retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma hurts the chances of India beating England. Kohli is the biggest loss as he has been their best batsman and talisman in all three formats. With so much international cricket played by India, and so little rest, it takes its toll and the mind becomes fatigued.
'It does not matter how much talent or experience you have, if you are not mentally fresh and up for the challenge then it becomes draining. Rohit was a superb batsman. At his best, a beautiful stroke player, but he won't be missed as much as Kohli because his Test record was good rather than exceptional. In the last couple of years his batting was a little inconsistent, which was not surprising in his late 30s.
'Rohit was never a natural athlete like Kohli and he knows that opening the innings in England can be pretty tough because the new ball moves around more. You really have to be up for the challenge to have any chance of success. I just think that over time the wear and tear of opening the innings and being captain in all three formats wore him down,' wrote Boycott in his column for The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday.
England come into the all-important series against India on the back of defeating Zimbabwe in the one-off Test at Trent Bridge last month. Boycott has urged the Ben Stokes-led side to temper their Bazball style of batting to beat India, as well as use some common sense.
'England should beat India if they temper Bazball and use some common sense. At times their cricket has been thrilling and super enjoyable but also reckless batting has lost them Test matches.
'Their only thought should be winning because it is no use telling us how good you are when the last three World Test Championship finals have been played in our country but England have not qualified for any of them. They should be embarrassed. Their aim should be to make the next WTC final.
'The new cycle starts now and somebody needs to get through to the England players that being a winner is better than being known as an entertainer. If you can win and entertain, that is a bonus. At the moment England are like a one-trick-pony.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
32 minutes ago
- Time of India
Ind vs Eng match time today: India in command as day 2 begins soon; Check match start time, where to watch & more
India vs England Test match timing Ind vs Eng match: Broadcast, live streaming in India Live Events India vs England Day 1 Highlights: India dominate with the bat Yashasvi Jaiswal (101): The young left-hander notched up a fluent century, his third in Tests. Shubman Gill (127)*: Gill became only the third Indian captain to score a century in his first match leading the Test side. Rishabh Pant (65)*: Known for his attacking flair, Pant counter-attacked late in the day with an unbeaten half-century, including a six off Chris Woakes in the final over. England's bowling attack struggled to extract much from the surface. Woakes finished wicketless, and debutant Bashir and Brydon Carse failed to apply pressure consistently. Captain Ben Stokes, who took two wickets, rotated his bowlers frequently but couldn't halt India's progress. Ind vs Eng Day 2 live: What to expect today Ind vs Eng: Playing XI (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Team India is all set to resume Day 2 of the first Test against England at Headingley in a dominant position after putting up 359/3 at stumps on the opening debutant captain Shubman Gill unbeaten on 127 and Rishabh Pant on 65, the visitors look set to build a massive first-innings five-Test series marks a crucial contest between two top Test-playing nations, with both teams seeking early momentum in the new World Test Championship first Test is underway and day will begin from 11:00 AM BST / 3:30 PM in India can catch live action on Sony Sports Network and live streaming is available on SonyLIV, top order delivered a composed and aggressive batting performance, led by:India will aim to cross the 500-run mark and bat England out of the contest. England, on the other hand, will look to make early breakthroughs with the new pitch at Headingley is expected to offer some movement early in the day before flattening Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Australias Konstas reflects on early challenges, highlights importance of personal diary ahead of WI Test
Bridgetown [Barbados], June 21 (ANI): For Australia's young swashbuckler Sam Konstas, the biggest challenge wasn't the batting aspect in his early taste of Test cricket but keeping his emotion in check while playing in front of a jam-packed crowd at the MCG against India. Kronstadt caught the eye of the world with his rollicking 60(65) in the Boxing Day Test but failed to conjure another impactful performance in Sydney. He was included in Australia's tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year but couldn't make the cut for the final XI. At just 19, Konstas is looking to find the calm in the chaos of international cricket, keeping control of his breath and trusting his game. "It was my first few Test matches, and the emotions probably got to me with the crowd. But having a bit of time off to reflect and strengthen my game has helped. Now, hopefully, I get the chance to start in the next Test," Konstas said, reflecting on his debut series against India, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo. Selectors confirmed that Konstas will earn his third cap for Australia in the Caribbean in the opening Test against the West Indies, scheduled to kick off on June 25 at Kensington Oval. Konstas missed out on a spot in the World Test Championship final against South Africa by a whisker after selectors opted to promote Marnus Labuschagne at the top. During his outing at Lord's in the WTC final, which turned out to be the last act of faith from selectors, Labuschagne opened alongside Usman Khawaja and returned with scores of 17 and 22. After another unimpressive show, Labuschagne was axed from Australia's squad for the West Indies series. Konstas, who is preparing for the series opener against the Caribbean side, highlighted the importance of his personal diary, allowing him to revisit the basics. "The diary's been important. Just reflecting on games, going back to my checkpoints, especially when you're overseas. It helps me get grounded again," Konstas, who has Test cap No. 468 tattooed on his forearm, added. Konstas gave credit to Australia's seasoned pros for much of his early learnings and said, "I'm just trying to control my breath and have a good relationship with my batting partner to talk about things and how to go through, especially heated moments when the game changes." "I always try to get advice from Uzi [Usman Khawaja], Marnus, Smith, just seeing how they go about things. I'm lucky to be around them, especially at 19. Playing for your country, travelling the world, it really is a dream come true," he added. Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sam Konstas, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis, Travis Head, Alex Carey, Beau Webster, Mitchell Starc, Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Matt Kuhnemann. (ANI)
India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
You don't massively miss someone that averages 33... Michael Vaughan Takes A Jibe At Former India Captains Test Retirement
Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes that the Indian side full of youngsters will not miss the services of their Former captain and one of the modern greats of Batting, Virat Kohli. Virat announced his retirement from Test cricket in May before the team was announced for the anticipated five-Test series against England. Kohli scored a century in the First test against Australia at Perth but what followed in the series were a patch of horrible dismissals and a dismal run managing to score mere 190 runs in the five Test matches. The fans and cricket experts still believed that a player of his stature and legacy will be given an longer rope and he will be considered for the England Tour, Virat announced his retirement after Indian captain Rohit Sharma retired, and considering it was an entire young unit at the English conditions, Virat's expertise and experience would have been the key. The retirement came as a shock, taking the internet and cricketing world by a storm. Vaughan On Kohli Vaughan without mincing his words stated how the team will miss Kohli's aggression on the field but pointed out his 33 average in UK as a batter stating the team is good to go without him. "Kohli is a legend and a culture creator around this Indian team, and what he brought as a captain to the team is still there in terms of the energy and the drive and the aggression. But he only averaged 33 here in the UK. You don't massively miss someone that averages 33, but you miss someone that brings so much to the dressing room," he said. "These players that are going to come in and play for India, they're seriously good players. Maybe this new generation has been waiting. Maybe they've been waiting for this moment. Don't be surprised that they play really well," he added. Kohli has played 17 Tests against England scoring 1096 runs at an average of 33.21 runs. He had a disappointing 2014 season, but made a miraculous comeback in 2018.
