The first Test between India and England starts at Headingley on May 20. There have been enough talks about India missing the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the series.
Both Virat and Rohit announced their Test retirements last month. This led the BCCI to rest their entire Test squad ahead of the five-match series against England. Shubman Gill was announced as the new Test skipper while Rishabh Pant was announced his deputy.
The BCCI then announced the Indian Test side recalling Karun Nair into the Test side on the back of his brilliant domestic numbers. He also scored a double hundred against the England Lions. Sai Sudharsan was added to the squad on the back of his consistent performances in the IPL. Abhimanyu Easwaran, the India A skipper, was also added to the squad.
Also Read: Gautam Gambhir, not Test captain Shubman Gill will be in the spotlight: Monty Panesar
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Rohit Sharma Was Good Rather Than Exceptional: Geoffrey Boycott
Meanwhile, the former England legendary batsman Geoffrey Boycott in his column for the Telegraph said that India will not miss Rohit as much as Kohli in the upcoming Test series. He also added that Rohit was not as exceptional a player as Kohli in Test cricket.
"Rohit was a superb batsman. At his best, a beautiful stroke player, but he will not 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," Boycott wrote on Telegraph.
He further added saying that opening in three formats was taking its toll on Rohit Sharma, which is why he decided to retire from Tests ahead of the England series as he could not counter the moving ball.
"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," he added.
Also Read: What happened the last time India played England in Tests?
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Rishabh Pant Confirms Shubman Gill To Bat At 4
Ahead of the first Test, Rishabh Pant confirmed that Shubman Gill will bat at number four in the batting lineup with he himself batting at five. The number three slot is still up for grabs with Karun Nair, Sai Sudharsan and Abhimanyu Easwaran being the viable options. There are reports that Karun Nair might bat at six in the lineup.
"I think there is still discussion going on, who's going to play three, but definitely four and five are fixed. I think Shubman is going to bat at number four, and I am going to stick to number five as of now, and the rest, we are going to keep on discussing that," Pant said during a press conference on Wednesday.
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