‘Rohit Sharma won't be missed as much as Virat Kohli': Geoffrey Boycott ahead of England vs India series
The legendary Geoffrey Boycott said that India will be hurt due to the absence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the upcoming Test series against England, adding that the former will be a bigger miss than the latter. Both Kohli and Rohit retired from the longest format last month with Shubman Gill getting promoted as captain.
'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,' Boycott wrote in his column for the Daily Telegraph.
'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,' Boycott added.
England skipper and all-rounder Ben Stokes also heaped praises on Kohli, saying India will miss his 'fighting spirit'.
In a video released by England Cricket, Stokes said on what India will miss after the retirement of Kohli, 'I think what India will miss will be his fighting spirit out in the game, his competitiveness, desire to win. He has made number 18 his, hasn't he? It'll be a bit weird not seeing number 18 on the back of anyone… of any Indian shirt, but he has been class for them for a long period of time.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Deccan Herald
21 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
Jaiswal's ton lights up the day
This series is considered to be the ultimate test of character for this young Indian side missing two of their batting stalwarts — Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Hans India
27 minutes ago
- Hans India
'Doesn't surprise me at all': Manjrekar lauds Jaiswal's gritty hundred at Headingley
New Delhi: Former India cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar was full of praise for Yashasvi Jaiswal after the young opener produced a masterful century on Day 1 of the first Test against England at Headingley. Speaking on JioHotstar after the opening session, Manjrekar said Jaiswal's performance was no surprise, calling him "India's best batter in Australia" and a player with a "solid Test match technique." 'This performance doesn't surprise me at all,' Manjrekar said. 'Jaiswal was India's best batter in Australia. He was the only one consistent throughout the series, showing a solid defensive technique—playing close to the body, going deep in the crease, and handling anything pitched up, especially from someone like Mitchell Starc.' Jaiswal's innings in Leeds was a continuation of that assured form. On a warm afternoon in Yorkshire, he compiled a fluent 101, becoming the first Indian batter to score centuries in his debut Tests in both Australia and England. His knock was a symphony of control and elegance, featuring crisp off-side strokeplay — only 9 of his first 100 runs came on the leg side. Jaiswal shared a crucial 123-run stand with new Test skipper Shubman Gill, who made a statement of his own, scoring his fastest Test fifty (off just 56 balls) in his first innings as captain. Gill's positive intent helped India recover from a double blow just before lunch and pushed the scoring rate comfortably above four runs an over. Deep Dasgupta, speaking alongside Manjrekar, applauded KL Rahul's innings and pointed out how England's strategy worked against debutant Sai Sudharsan. 'KL Rahul played brilliantly but the ball was swinging more when he fell. For Sai, England's team management deserves credit — they set up the field perfectly with two leg-side catchers, knowing his trigger movement,' he said. Manjrekar was equally impressed with Ben Stokes' captaincy, highlighting how England's skipper sensed Sudharsan's vulnerability and went "all in" to exploit it. 'This is what makes this series exciting. Stokes adds 20% more winning chances to England just by how he leads,' he said. Jaiswal reached his hundred with back-to-back boundaries off Brydon Carse, followed by a quick single — bringing out a triumphant helmet-off celebration and a roar of satisfaction. His second fifty came in just 48 balls before he fell to Ben Stokes just after Tea. The left-handed batter's 101-run contribution had handed India the upper hand on Day 1 of the First Test in the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy.
India.com
31 minutes ago
- India.com
IND vs ENG, 1st Test: Shubman Gill Creates History, Becomes Youngest Indian Captain To...
Shubman Gill scripted history on his Test captaincy on Day 1 of the first Test of the five-match series against England for the newly-minted Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at Headingley, Leeds on June 20, Friday. The 25-year-old-Gill, who is leading India for the first time, looked in fine touch from the start of his innings. He played some beautiful shots to complete his fifty in just 56 balls, which is now his fastest half-century in Test cricket. Fastest Fifty For Shubman Gill In Tests 56 balls vs ENG, Leeds, 2025 60 balls vs ENG, Vizag, 2024 64 balls vs ENG, Dharamsala, 2024 66 balls vs NZ, Mumbai, 2024 With this fifty, Gill became the ninth Indian player to score 50 or more in his first innings as Test captain. Meanwhile, Shubman also became the youngest Indian captain to score 50+ score in England in Test cricket. Youngest Indian Captain To Score 50+ Score In England In Tests 25y 285d - Shubman Gill vs ENG, Leeds, 2025 26y 174d - Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Leeds, 1967 27y 168d - Mohammed Azharuddin, Lord's, 1990 29y 269d - Virat Kohli, Birmingham, 2018 Gill also joined an elite list of Indian captains to score 50-plus on Test debut. The last one was KL Rahul, who scored 50 against South Africa in 2022. Indians To Score 50+ In 1st First Innings On Captaincy Debut In Tests Vijay Merchant - 164* vs ENG, Delhi, 1951 Hemu Adhikari - 63 vs WI, Delhi, 1959 Nari Contractor - 62 vs PAK, Mumbai, 1960 Chandu Borde - 69 vs AUS, Adelaide, 1967 Sunil Gavaskar - 116 vs NZ, Auckland, 1976 Sourav Ganguly - 84 vs BAN, Dhaka, 2000 Virat Kohli - 115 vs AUS, Adelaide, 2014 KL Rahul - 50 vs SA, Johannesburg, 2022 Shubman Gill - 50* vs ENG, Leeds, 2025 IND vs ENG, 1st Test: Toss, Playing XI And More Earlier, England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bowl first against India in the first Test of the five-match series for the newly-minted Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. India handed Test debut to left-handed batter B Sai Sudharsan while seasoned middle-order batter Karun Nair came back into the playing XI after a long wait of eight years. Playing XIs India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, B Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Karun Nair, Shardul Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
