After Sharma and Kohli's retirement, Team India engaged in a five-match Test series against England. They travelled to England under the leadership of newly-appointed captain Shubman Gill. The five-match Test series between Team India and England ended in a 2-2 draw
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (Pic: File Pic)
Former England wicket-keeper Roland Butcher feels that Team India will miss the presence of its stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in Test cricket, after the duo drew curtains on their illustrious careers.
He also said that currently, India has only one match-winner with the bat, that is Rishabh Pant.
"Well, I think the Indian team is going to miss both of those players because Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were match winners. You know, they can turn a game by themselves. I think India, at the moment, has a very good side, but the team will not be as good without those two players. The players who have replaced them are very good players. They can score plenty of runs, but they will score runs over a longer period, which means that they don't get themselves in the winning position that quickly," he told ANI.
Heaping more praise on Pant, Butcher labelled him as "the only match-winner" for India. He also said that the absence of Kohli and Sharma is going to be a huge loss for the side.
"So, I think the next couple of years are going to be a transformation for India. They need to find some match-winning batters. The only match-winner, really, in the team at the moment is Rishabh Pant. So, Sharma and Kohli's absence from the team is going to be a huge loss for the team. I don't think that, at the moment, any of the replacements are better than those two because, over the years, their track record has proved that they have been two of the best in the world," said the 71-year-old.
After Sharma and Kohli's retirement, Team India engaged in a five-match Test series against England. They travelled to England under the leadership of newly-appointed captain Shubman Gill.
"I think Shubhaman Gill, he's young in terms of captaincy. So, he has to learn how to captain the game," said Butcher, who has played three Tests and the same number of ODI matches for England.
The former cricketer also said that Gill needs to create his own identity as he will be leading a new team, and stated that it is not going to be easy for the young player.
"He's captain in a new team, really, because he's suddenly in the team with two of the most senior players missing. So, he's got to find himself as a captain. He's got to integrate the new players into the team, and he has to make his own identity. It's not going to be easy," he added.
The five-match Test series between Team India and England ended in a 2-2 draw.
(With ANI Inputs)
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