India takes on England in the first Test at Headingley.
The Indian men’s cricket team is set to begin a new era of Test cricket as they take on England in a five-match series from June 20. They will be without the stalwarts such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin. Led by Shubman Gill, the Indian team will go through a transition on the tour of England.
There are plenty of questions ahead of them regarding the batting line-up. One of the biggest talking points in the build-up has been how India can fill the void left by Virat Kohli, who has been an influential figure in red-ball cricket.
Most of the pundits and fans believe India will miss the services of Kohli. The former England captain Michael Vaughan, however, has a different view on this debate.
ALSO READ:
In an exclusive conversation with Fox Cricket, Vaughan spoke on a wide range of topics including the Ashes, England’s number three conundrum, and the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
Vaughan understands the impact Kohli has had on the Indian team and the energy he brought on the field. But the Englishman also made a claim that India will not miss his batting.
“Kohli is a legend and a culture creator around this Indian team, and what he brought as a captain to the team is still there in terms of the energy and the drive and the aggression. But he only averaged 33 here in the UK. You don’t massively miss someone that averages 33,” said Vaughan.
Kohli went on three England tours in 2014, 2018, and 2021. He produced an outrageous series in 2018 but averaged 13.40 and 27.66 on the other two Test tours. He also played two World Test Championship finals but couldn’t do much. Overall, Kohli played 17 Tests on the English soil and averaged just 33.12.
With Kohli and Sharma vacating their spots, the Indian team management has to decide who will replace them in the line-up. Sai Sudharsan, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, and Abhimanyu Eswaran are among the options on this tour.
Vaughan believes India has the talent pool to ensure Virat Kohli the batter will not be missed.
“These players that are going to come in and play for India, they’re seriously good players. Maybe this new generation has been waiting for this moment. Don’t be surprised that they play really well.”
The first Test of the series takes place at Headingley in Leeds. The Gill-led side will be hoping to get off to a winning start.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.
