England vice captain Ollie Pope on Wednesday said that even though the Indian Test team led by Shubman Gill has plenty of depth and talent, they will be missing the aura of Virat Kohli during the 5-match Test series, scheduled to start at Leeds from June 20.
“It’s a young team, but these Indian players they have got so much depth and talent. So they’ve got a lot of young guys coming through; a lot of good players. Shubman Gill, their new captain, is a fantastic player. They will miss the aura of Virat Kohli standing at slips and chirping away. But they have got some good talent, so they will feel confident. But our players are ready for it,” Pope told talkSPORT Cricket.
India are coming into the England series with an almost new look side with stalwarts like Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin hanging up their boots from the longest format in the last 6 months. They will also be missing the talent of Mohammed Shami as well due to the pacer lacking match fitness while Jasprit Bumrah is expected to be available for 3 matches out of the 5 Tests.
India have not won a Test series in England since 2007, having lost in 2011, 2014 and 2018, while the 2021-22 series ended in a draw.
Pope emphasised the importance of the upcoming India series for England, calling it vital preparation in the lead-up to the Ashes later this year.
“It’s a great time for us to play India. Last summer, we had the West Indies and Sri Lanka, but with India coming over, the level of quality that they will bring is a great way for us to focus on that and not look too far ahead.
“So yeah, for us, it’s the perfect time to play India, and then once the Ashes come around, it will be exciting.”
(With agency inputs)