England batter Ollie Pope believes India will miss Virat Kohli in the upcoming Test series. India and England are set to play a five-match series starting June 20 at Headingley, Leeds. Just before this big event, senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirements and left big holes in the Indian team.
In a recent chat, Pope said even though India has a lot of depth and talent, they’ll still feel Kohli’s presence, especially with him being so vocal in the slips. “It’s a young team, but these Indian players have so much talent. Shubman Gill, their new captain, is a great player. They’ll miss Kohli’s energy in the slips, but they’re still confident with the talent they have,” he said on talkSPORT cricket.
Pope also said facing a strong team like India will be a good challenge and a great way to prepare for the Ashes later this year. “Playing India now is perfect for us. Last summer we had the West Indies and Sri Lanka, but India will bring a higher level of competition and that’s what we need to focus on,” he added.
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This will be the first series for new captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Rishabh Pant. India haven’t won a series in England since 2007 and will be up against Ben Stokes’ team who are now second in the ICC Test rankings.
