4 days ago
'Difficult To Fill In...': Shubman Gill Breaks Silence On Rohit-Virat's Retirement
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Shubman Gill is seeing the challenge of replacing Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli but is confident in India's squad for the England Test series starting June 20.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have retired from Tests
India's Test skipper Shubman Gill has said that it would be tough for the Indian team to fill in the massive gaps left by Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, but with enough firepower in the squad, the team is confident that they can put up a good show in the upcoming five-match Test series in England.
Rohit and Kohli announced their Test retirements last month, within a few days of each other, leaving a massive gap to fill for an young Indian team.
With the likes of KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah in the side, the squad doesn't lack experience but the draw that Rohit and Kohli had would surely be missed.
'Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are experienced players, and they have won us many games. It is always difficult to fill their space, but the team's combination has a good mix of talent and experience," Gill said while speaking at the pre-departure press conference.
'This doesn't call for extra pressure because we as a team are always ready to handle pressure and know how to win from such situations," Gill added.
The star Indian batter is expected to bat at No. 3 for India with Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul opening the innings, but a lot of eyes will be on Gill, since his numbers while batting overseas aren't great.
There were a lot of debates on whether Gill should be handed captaincy given his away performance, but with Bumrah clearly stating to the selectors that he won't be available for all five games, the management had to zero down on Gill, who is expected to play the entire series.
Gill's captaincy got another boost after he led the Gujarat Titans into IPL 2025 playoffs as well.
India play the first Test against England from June 20 in Leeds. Most of the team, led by Gill, will leave on Thursday, while a few others have already departed.
The second India A vs England Lions match begins on Friday, with Rahul expected to feature. The India A and senior teams will also play an intra-squad game before the series begins.
