"He won’t be missed as much as Kohli" - England legend’s massive claim ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

Former England opener Sir Geoffrey Boycott reckons Team India will not miss Rohit Sharma as much as Virat Kohli in the forthcoming five-Test series, beginning on June 20, in Leeds. Boycott claimed that Rohit was not a natural athlete like Kohli and that the former would have found opening the innings difficult in English conditions.

Both Rohit and Kohli called it a day from the longest format, retiring in quick succession, leaving Team India's batting unit depleted ahead of the England tour. While Rohit only succeeded late in his Test career, Kohli retired with impressive numbers, aggregating 9230 runs in 123 matches. The latter is also the most successful Indian Test skipper, ushering the team to 40 wins in 68 games.

Writing in his latest column for The Telegraph, 84-year-old Boycott opined:

"Rohit was a superb batsman. At his best, a beautiful stroke player, but he won’t be missed as much as Kohli because his Test record was good rather than exceptional. Rohit was never a natural athlete like Kohli and he knows that opening the innings in England can be pretty tough because the new ball moves around more. You really have to be up for the challenge to have any chance of success."

The former England batter further dissected the reason behind Kohli's Test retirement, claiming that too much high-intensity cricket could have left him exhausted. He added:

"The retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma hurts the chances of India beating England. Kohli is the biggest loss as he has been their best batsman and talisman in all three formats. With so much international cricket played by India, and so little rest, it takes its toll and the mind becomes fatigued. It does not matter how much talent or experience you have, if you are not mentally fresh and up for the challenge then it becomes draining."

The 36-year-old largely struggled during the Australia tour earlier this year, aggregating 190 runs in 11 innings at 23.75. Although Kohli peeled off a ton in the second innings of the opening Test, he managed only 90 runs in the remaining innings.

"Their aim should be to make the next WTC final" - Sir Geoffrey Boycott on England

Sir Geoffrey Boycott. (Credits: Getty)

Boycott also lashed out at England for not qualifying for any of the three World Test Championship (WTC) finals so far. He wrote in the aforementioned column:

"Their only thought should be winning because it is no use telling us how good you are when the last three World Test Championship finals have been played in our country but England have not qualified for any of them. They should be embarrassed. Their aim should be to make the next WTC final."

South Africa clinched the mace by beating Australia in the WTC 2025 final.