Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s retirement just before the ICC World Test Championship cycle started left a big void in the team. Because they were so good and had so much experience, people wondered if a younger Team India could handle the tough tour of England without them. But the Shubman Gill led team showed what they could do, tied the five-Test Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series 2-2.
Akash Deep, the right-arm fast bowler, was the star with 13 wickets in three Tests. He had 10 wickets in one match at Edgbaston which helped India win in record fashion.
This is a team. I think even if I am not here one day, the team spirit will remain the same. The team isn’t about one person; it’s about 11 players, Akash Deep said in an interview.
Question: You've played with Virat Kohli. Does the Indian team miss him?
— Sports Culture (@SportsCulture24) August 11, 2025
Akash Deep: See, there are 11 players in the team, so it's not about one player. All 11 players are equally important. Virat Kohli was also excellent in his time and he took the team to greater heights. pic.twitter.com/hjwArUq8Un
Akash Deep’s thoughts follow the philosophy of head coach Gautam Gambhir who has always said that every member of the team should get credit, not just the stars. Akash Deep has also shared the locker room with Kohli who even gave him one of his bats.
Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, ending a career where he became India’s most successful Test captain, scoring 9230 runs in 123 Tests.
After the series, Deep shared how advice from Kohli and Dhoni helped him with his confidence. He said confidence is key for any athlete.
“Virat always says that if you have doubts, practice until you have no questions. Dhoni also says that practice builds confidence. Cricket is a confidence game and you’ll only believe in yourself if you work hard,” Deep told Aaj Tak.
Deep also talked about The Oval Test, explaining why India didn’t take the second new ball. He said the older ball was still moving a lot so India stuck with it. He added that the wicket had become flat and scoring was tough and the team wanted to use the swing to take wickets.
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“The final match was very important. We were down 2-1 so we had to stay focused. At one point the wicket wasn’t helping us and we thought we might lose. But then the ball started moving and with the crowd’s support we believed we could win,” Deep said.“We had big legends with so much experience in the locker room. Because the ball was moving a lot and it was old, scoring wasn’t easy. Our plan was to try to take wickets using that movement. If that didn’t work we would have gone for the new ball,” Deep said.
On the fifth day of the final Test at The Oval, India won a close match against England by six runs and tied the series 2-2. England were 347 for six while chasing 374 before getting bowled out for 367 in an hour. Mohammed Siraj took five wickets including the last one while Prasidh Krishna provided important support with key wickets.
