India start new era without Kohli and Rohit against England

LONDON: Shubman Gill will be in the spotlight as a new-look India, without star batsmen Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, bid to end their 18-year wait for a Test series win in England.

Gill succeeded Rohit as captain after the latter announced his retirement from Test cricket last month. Just days later, Kohli said he was bowing out of red-ball internationals as well.

Gill also has the additional responsibility of filling Kohli´s shoes at number four in the batting order. India vice-captain Rishabh Pant on Wednesday revealed that was where his new skipper would bat in the first of a five-Test series against England starting at Headingley on Friday.

The 25-year-old Gill has a modest Test batting average of 35 in 32 matches, a figure that drops to 29 in away games and declines even further to under 15 in three matches in England.

India´s number four position has been dominated during the past three decades by all-time batting great Sachin Tendulkar and Kohli, who in that specific position scored 21,056 runs between them in 278 Tests.

Gill´s first challenge will be ensuring the demands of captaincy don´t detract from his batting in England, where India have won just three Test series -- in 1971, 1986 and 2007. Thus far Gill has made all the right noises, saying last month: “I believe in leading by example -- not just by performance, but, I think, off the field by discipline and hard work.”

He will have the ebullient Pant to lean on after the wicketkeeper-batsman´s return from a life-threatening car crash in 2022, while opener Yashavsi Jaiswal is one of the game´s rising stars. But it is not just in batting where India -- who have had limited warm-up time in England -- must cope without stalwart performers.

Jasprit Bumrah is arguably the best all-format bowler in world cricket at present but, following a back injury lay-off, the quick may only play in three of the five Tests given the tight schedule.

Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has retired from Test cricket, while experienced Mohammed Shami, not fully fit following ankle surgery last year, has been omitted. If there are concerns about India´s ability to take the 20 wickets they need to win a match, those doubts apply to England as well.

Beaten 4-1 in India last year, Ben Stokes´ men are tipped to turn the tables on home soil in a series that launches the new cycle of the World Test Championship following South Africa´s dramatic defeat of Australia in last week´s final at Lord´s.

England, however, are without the retired duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, their two most successful Test bowlers of all time with a combined 1,308 wickets between them. “It feels so good when both of them are not there,” said Pant, adding: “But at the same time, they have enough ammunition in the England bowling line-up.

“We don´t want to take anyone lightly because our team is also young and still looking to develop themselves.” England´s desire to field an attack including both Jofra Archer and Mark Wood has been hampered by repeated injuries to the fast bowlers.

Both Archer and Wood will be missing at Headingley, where Durham paceman Brydon Carse is set to make his home debut in an attack where Chris Woakes, who missed most of the start of the season with an ankle injury, is the senior seamer.

“There´s no hiding away from the fact that, over a number of years, England have had Broad and Anderson as the main two bowlers, so it is slightly more inexperienced,” said Carse. The 29-year-old added: “I think it´s a good chance for a couple of younger players, with slightly less experience, to stamp down some authority throughout the series.”