Kohli, Rohit exits leave India facing uncertain new era

NEW DELHI: Indian cricket will enter an uncertain new era next week when selectors name a Test squad without all-time greats Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for the first time in more than a decade.

Batting great Kohli and captain Rohit both retired from Tests in the past week, leaving Shubman Gill as the front-runner to lead a new-look India in England. The retirement last year of veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin leaves India without the backbone of the side that was formerly number one in the world Test rankings.

Top-order batsman Gill is favourite to be given the task of starting India’s rebuild with the five-Test England series, which begins on June 20 at Headingley. “Gill looks like the heir apparent but his record overseas hasn´t looked too great,” veteran cricket journalist Ayaz Memon told AFP.

The 25-year-old Gill has scored 1,893 runs at an average of 35.05 in 32 Tests since his debut in 2020, with five hundreds. But in 13 Tests away from home his average is only 29.50. Gill is likely to move up the order to open alongside the 23-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal, with big-hitting Shreyas Iyer in the frame to replace Kohli at the fall of the second wicket.

Others who could be charged with the almost impossible task of following in all-time great Kohli’s footsteps are Sarfaraz Khan, Rajat Patidar and Dhruv Jurel. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has also been mentioned as a future captain, but his current poor form and less-than-inspiring leadership of Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL are counting against his immediate elevation.

Leading pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah was Rohit’s deputy in Australia and led the team in two Tests, winning one, and was seen as another candidate for captain. But Bumrah has only recently returned to action after suffering a back injury during the final Test at Sydney in January.

The five Tests in England are crammed into six weeks, meaning India will need to manage the workload of their pace attack by resting bowlers for one or more matches, effectively ruling Bumrah out of the captaincy debate.

Memon, who called Kohli’s retirement “a big moment in Indian cricket”, said there was enough strength in depth to fill the void left by Kohli, opener Rohit and Ashwin. “There are senior pros like (Mohammed) Shami, if he is in form and selected, and (Ravindra) Jadeja,” said Memon.

“The new crop of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, maybe Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj look good. “They could be looking for a young spinner, maybe Washington Sundar because Ashwin is not there.”

Off-spinner Ashwin called an abrupt halt to his international career after playing the second Test in Adelaide last year. He ended his career with 537 wickets in 106 matches, eighth on the all-time list and behind only Anil Kumble for India, who had 619 dismissals.

India’s 1983 World Cup-winning all-rounder Sandeep Patil believes the new-look India could come out stronger after a period of transition. “The two stalwarts, the two pillars of Indian cricket, have gone,” Patil, who was chief selector when Kohli became captain in 2015, told The Times of India. “It is time to rebuild. It will be a challenge for the national selectors, but I am sure we will find a solution.