The two veterans had called time on their Test careers recently
Fast-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur said that not having Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the dressing room during the upcoming England Test series is like ‘losing the guiding light’ for the Indian team.
Kohli, who has played 123 Tests and scored 9,230 runs including 30 hundreds, called time on his red-ball career and retired as India’s most successful Test captain.
Rohit, who has played 67 Tests and 4,301 runs including 12 hundreds, retired around a week before Kohli during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
Either of the stalwarts have led India in Tests in the last nine years, with the captaincy going to Jasprit Bumrah and Ajinkya Rahane in their absence.
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Thakur, who will be making his Test comeback after last playing against South Africa in December 2023, said that not having Rohit and Virat will pose fresh challenges for India under the leadership of new captain Shubman Gill.
“We will definitely miss them. I know they will be playing ODIs, but both Rohit and Virat were driving Test cricket. When seniors players are around you, as a youngster, you feel a protective layer around you. Not that you don’t feel protected if there are no seniors, but the team flourishes where there is guidance from experienced players. The current team is full of talented players and this tour will be a great learning for us under new leadership, but the guiding light is gone,” Thakur said in an interview with Revsportz.
Ahead of the tour that begins on June 20 at Leeds, the selectors have named Gill as the captain and keeper-batter Rishabh Pant as his deputy.
Thakur said that the duo, with their contrasting personalities, will guide the team into a bright future.
“Both are big players and are the future of Indian cricket. They both have different personalities. Shubman is calm and composed but has fun when he gets the chance. But when he gets to practice or during matchdays, he gets serious with his work,” Thakur said of the 25-year-old.
Thakur has played under Pant’s captaincy at Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025.
“Rishabh is more of a fun-loving guy and that is his USP. You see him cracking jokes with the fielders and the keeper, but he keeps scoring runs while doing that. Both of them have scored runs when the team needed them to and seeing players with such capability makes me happy that the future is bright,” he said about Pant.
Thakur has also been named in the India ‘A’ squad set to play two four-day games against England Lions and one intra-squad match before the five-match Test series begins.
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