'Rohit won’t be missed as much as Kohli' - Geoffrey Boycott on India's chances against England

Published - 18 Jun 2025, 16:56 IST | Updated - 18 Jun 2025, 17:14 IST

Geoffrey Boycott opened up on India's chances of winning the series against England following the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The former English opener claimed the retirement of the duo could indeed hurt India. He felt Kohli could be the biggest loss, given he was the best batter of the team across formats.

The former England opener felt the key for the emerging openers would be to be up for the challenge. While the former English batter agreed Rohit to be a superb batter and a beautiful strokemaker, he felt the current Indian ODI skipper would not be missed as much as Kohli. He asserted the fact that Rohit was a bit inconsistent in the last few years.

"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," Boycott wrote in his column for The Daily Telegraph.

"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. 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. In the last couple of years, his batting was a little inconsistent, which was not surprising in his late 30s," Boycott added.

Geoffrey Boycott claimed Rohit was not a natural athlete, unlike Virat, and was aware of the difficulty of opening the innings in England against the moving ball. The former English opener felt the batters have a great challenge to tackle the moving ball in the UK and claimed that Rohit's downfall became a reality in the longest format of the game, with him regularly playing all three formats.

"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. I just think that over time, the wear and tear of opening the innings and being captain in all three formats wore him down," wrote Boycott on Wednesday.

For the first time since 2011, India will play a Test series in England without the services of Virat. The last time India toured England in 2021, Rohit was their best batter, who smashed a ton at the Oval and performed well in the Lord's Test. India will miss the experienced duo in the upcoming series, which will be their first in the transitional phase.