India Missing Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma But Not Their Runs? Ex-India Star Delivers Blunt Verdict

Former Indian cricket team batter Sanjay Manjrekar praised Shubman Gill and Co for their performance in the fourth Test match against England even without the big names like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Both Rohit and Virat announced their retirement from Test cricket just ahead of the series and Manjrekar pointed out that such a scenario affects the game massively. However, Gill has led the team by example and Manjrekar said that considering the start, Gill can find himself in the 'league of legends'.

"If you're taking the Joe Root out of the side or taking two experienced players like India have had to retire recently, it would be a very, very different scenario. I think India have given a great account of themselves. They've kept the series alive, and it's certainly interesting to see the mood in the bus on the England bus when it goes down to London compared to the Indian bus on the way down to London. As we see Shubman Gill here in a league of legends, as it said, and certainly has the opportunity to go to the top of that sort of leaderboard there, and I wouldn't bet against it," Manjrekar said on JioStar.

Manjrekar even said that provided both Rohit and Virat struggled for runs in the past year, it was not their runs but experience that the Indian cricket team missed in the ongoing Test series against England.

"Rohit Sharma was averaging 10 in the last two series that he played, and Virat Kohli was averaging 30 in the last five years. So they were perhaps not easy to replace, but it wasn't like it was a huge loss. It was a loss of two very senior players, but not a loss of contribution, because they weren't contributing as much."

Topics mentioned in this article

Sanjay Manjrekar Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma India Cricket Team England Cricket Team England vs India, 2025 Cricket