Whoever comes in place of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are going to be quality players: Ben Stokes

England Test skipper Ben Stokes has stated that Team India has enough batting depth and added that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s replacements are going to be quality players in the playing XI against England in the five-match Test series, starting on June 20 at Headingley, Leeds.

Notably, England is scheduled for a big 2025-26 season. Firstly, they will take on India in the five-match Test series from June to August. Later, they will move to Australia for another five-match Test series, ‘Ashes’, later this year.

With the veteran duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad retiring from Test cricket, England will pose an inexperienced bowling line-up against the Indian batting attack. However, Stokes feels that it is not going to be a major issue.

“That’s not an issue. Guys have to start their international journey at some point. We have got a crop of bowlers who have an unbelievable amount of talent. Experience sometimes gets massively thought about and looked at. At the end of the day, it is your skills that [matter],” Stokes said.

“It’s five matches... so at some point the dynamics of the line-up will change. But we are really happy with where our bowling is. We know what we want — points of difference and not the same thing throughout. You need that X-factor,” he added.

Furthermore, the English skipper is aware of the threat the Indian batting line-up poses despite the absence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Though he added that the veteran duo will be a big miss for India, he doesn’t see it as an easier aspect for his bowlers.

“The depth that India has in its batting department is incredible! Whoever comes in place of Virat and Rohit are going to be quality players. The two are a big miss for India, but we won’t be viewing it as something that is going to be easier than it would normally be,” he observed.

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