IND vs ENG: Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma retirements will hurt India in England, feel Matthew Hayden and Graeme Smith

Cricket Legends Foresee Challenges for India in England Test Series

Cricket legends Matthew Hayden and Graeme Smith have voiced their predictions for the upcoming five-match Test series between India and England, commencing Friday at Headingley. Both anticipate significant difficulties for the Indian side, emphasizing the void left by the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

Cricket legends discuss Kohli and Sharma's impact on India's chances.

According to the analysts, the absence of these experienced players will place immense pressure on the young captain, Shubman Gill, as he navigates the demanding English conditions. The Indian team's batting lineup will be noticeably less experienced following the retirements of Kohli and Sharma from Test cricket last month.

Hayden told the ICC, "I feel India are really going to struggle. Shubman Gill is a young captain coming to this hostile environment, seaming conditions, bouncing conditions. It's going to be a real challenge, it's actually absolutely the litmus test as a touring team."

The former Australia opener added, "Generally touring teams come here and it is polar opposite conditions to what you are used to as fundamentally as a player, be it young or old. So lots of adjustments, so I predict that England, let me tell you, are a going to have a pretty good party at the end of that series."

Smith echoed Hayden's sentiments, stating, "England at home, they really do play well at home. They understand the conditions and get the best out of it. I think it's going to be a challenge for Shubman and his team, lost a lot of experience, got to come here and that pressure shifts onto different people..."

He further added, "I think Bumrah is going to carry a huge amount of the bowling attack. So I think England will have the better of India in these conditions."

The Indian team will also be without R Ashwin, who retired after the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Brisbane last December.

India's Test series victories in England have been rare, with only three successful campaigns in 1971, 1986, and 2007 since bilateral engagements began in 1932.