Follow UsLast week, Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the longest format, signaling an end to an illustrious career in the red-ball format, where he led India to a World Test Championship final.
While many agreed that it was ‘touch and go’ for Rohit to lead India in the upcoming five-match Test series against England, former South African star Daryll Cullinan went one step ahead. Cullinan opined that Rohit’s retirement in the longest format was ‘long overdue’, and added that he isn’t a big loss for India in Tests.
"Rohit's retirement was probably long overdue in terms of test cricket away from India. Let's be honest about it. He hasn't really been the player that he throughout his career has been at home and we saw reluctance from him in recent Australian series to really take it on and lead from the front. So I don't see that as being a loss for India at all," Cullinan told Hindustan Times.
In both Rohit and Virat Kohli's absence, can India have a chance at winning a rare series in England? Cullinan pointed out that India will have a realistic chance of winning a series in England only if the bowlers shine.
"India definitely have a realistic chance if all their bowlers are fit and they're able to see through the series. They're always going to be in with a chance. Ability to bowl teams out and there's depth in India's batting," said Cullinan.
There’s a very good chance that India could hand out a debut cap to Sai Sudharsan, who has taken international cricket like a horse to water, with two half-centuries in the ODI format away in South Africa. While he only has a first-class average of 40, there’s a strong belief that he could be India’s future batting star.
Cullinan stated it will be a great opportunity for the youngsters to showcase their talent.
"But it's a great opportunity for young emerging players to really understand the authority on the game or what to be reckoned with now as future test stars. It's going to be a very interesting series for India, and it will highlight their game conditions, which a few won't be familiar with either with bat or ball."