Former England cricketer David Lloyd believes that despite Virat Kohli’s absence, India remains strong due to the impressive performances of their young players.
Virat Kohli has withdrawn from the ongoing England series due to personal reasons, abruptly leaving the national camp in Hyderabad after initially joining ahead of the first Test. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) requested privacy for Kohli, whose current whereabouts are unknown. His absence has been felt keenly in the first two Tests, especially evident in India’s struggling middle order.
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Despite concerns over the inexperienced middle order for the upcoming third Test, former England cricketer David Lloyd remained optimistic about India’s prospects. He believes that Kohli’s absence won’t significantly weaken the team, pointing out the impressive performances of young players like Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, the series’ leading run-scorer.
“All of India has been digesting the news that Virat Kohli will not play any part in the series but I don’t think it weakens them too much even if he is one of the greatest players we’ve ever seen,” Lloyd wrote in his column for The Daily Mail.
“Shubman Gill stepped up in the second Test and the Indian batters are all well capable of getting massive scores. The one England have had the most problems with so far is Yashasvi Jaiswal and their challenge therefore is to try to work out a plan to dismiss the series’ leading run scorer,” he added.
During the Visakhapatnam Test, Jaiswal stole the show with an impressive score of 209, overshadowing other Indian batters whose highest individual score was 34 in the same innings. His remarkable double-century marked India’s first by a left-handed batsman since Gautam Gambhir in 2009.
Similarly, in the second innings, after Shubman Gill’s century, the next highest score was 45 by Axar Patel. Gill’s century, his first in 11 months, brought relief and strengthened his position at No. 3 in the batting order.
Reports also hint at Sarfaraz Khan’s potential debut in the third Test and Dhurv Jurel replacing KS Bharat in the lineup.
Last Updated on February 14, 2024
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