Follow UsThe Indian Test team will enter a new era with the captaincy baton being passed to Rohit Sharma whereas the middle-order will bear a new look as well. The likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, whose forms have been a big cause of concern in the last three years, have been dropped from the squad with Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer most likely to take up their spots in the Mohali Test.
Further, this will be a momentous occasion with Virat Kohli playing his 100th Test match joining the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, and Ishant Sharma to have played a century of five-day matches.
The focus will invariably ride on Virat Kohli but the sub-plots would carry as much significance in the context of Indian cricket. Gill and Iyer have shown enough maturity and temperament to ride their short red-ball career, but how they sustain the momentum and carry the legacy of Indian batting forward will dictate the future course of action.
"Look these are big shoes to fill in. It's never easy for the guys coming in. Even I don't know who's coming in place of Pujara and Rahane. So we have to wait till tomorrow morning to see who's going to play," Rohit said, speaking on the impact of the senior duo's absence from the team.
"Whenever there are changes in the squad, there is always a fresh start for guys that are coming in. It's never easy. Those guys (Iyer, Vihari) who are going to replace the two guys, have done exceedingly well whenever they have got an opportunity whether it's first-class cricket back home or India A tours and limited opportunities that they have got playing Test cricket.
"I think we need to back these guys to come good for us. At times, we need to look forward and those guys have been waiting for a while. So hopefully when they get an opportunity, they can turn things around for us. It's not one or two games but I am looking at them to play a number of years and win games for India."
India are currently reeling at the fifth position on the ICC Test Championship table with a PCT of 49.07 and the draw against New Zealand at home seemed to have disturbed the entire dynamics. The likes of Pakistan and Australia have held a better standing thanks to their home performances and to be in the reckoning, India can’t afford any structural damage in the home series against Sri Lanka. Rohit admitted that India will be under a lot of pressure in order to secure a final berth.
"I think it's going to be a challenging one, no doubt about that. We do understand we are midway on the WTC table. From hereon now, every single game is important. We do understand that...it is very, very important for us to be in present, what we can do in the next Test and the rest that follows. In the nine Tests we have (2 vs Sri Lanka, 1 vs England, 2 vs Bangladesh, and 4 vs Australia), we have to win almost every game. There will be a lot of pressure," he admitted.
"But you will build a lot of character and you will see a lot of champion cricketers coming around. That's my belief, you thrive under pressure, you turn out to be a solid cricketer,” the newly-appointed Indian skipper added.