Tags: Rohit Gurunath Sharma,
Virat Kohli,
Geoffrey Boycott
Published on: Jan 31, 2024
Former England opener Geoffrey Boycott reckons that India captain Rohit Sharma is past his prime, adding that India badly missed senior pro Virat Kohli in the first Test against England in Hyderabad
Despite being a strong position after having claimed 190-run first innings lead, India went down to England by 28 runs in the first Test of the five-match series. Chasing 231 for victory, they were bowled out for 202 as debutant left-arm spinner Tom Hartley picked up seven wickets.
In his column for The Daily Telegraph, Boycott wrote that India are struggling without Kohli and that Rohit is not doing enough with the bat as captain. The opener was dismissed for 24 and 39 in the two innings in Hyderabad.
“This India team are ripe for the taking and England have a golden chance to be the first side to topple them on their own patch for 12 years. India badly miss Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja has a hamstring injury and will not play the second Test. Their captain Rohit Sharma is nearly 37 and past his best. He makes pretty cameos but has scored only two Test hundreds at home in four years,” Boycott wrote in his column.
He also claimed that India are weak in the field, referring to the two reprieves Ollie Pope got and ended up scoring 196, which turned the Test match on its head.
Boycott further praised England’s batters for the manner in which they dealt with the Indian spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar Patel
“England bamboozled India with their sweeps and reverse sweeps and to lose after taking a 190-run lead will be mind-blowing for India. It has never happened to them before on their own pitches where they thought they were invincible,” the 83-year-old further wrote.
India will miss the services of Jadeja and KL Rahul in Visakhapatnam in the second Test as both players have been ruled out due to injuries. Jadeja has a hamstring issue, while Rahul complained of pain in his right quadriceps.
Boycott believes that Jadeja’s absence will be a massive factor because of what he brings to the table for the Indian team. “Jadeja is a huge blow. He is a great all-rounder, top bowler, brilliant fielder and was their best batsman in the first Test. Kohli is their talisman. He is a magnificent batsman who averages 60 on Indian pitches but he also gives them great energy in the field. He is a big loss and England must make the most of it before he comes back for the third Test,” said Boycott.
India have added Sarfaraz Khan, Saurabh Kumar and Washington Sundar to the squad for the second Test.
–By A Cricket Correspondent
