IND vs ENG: Alastair Cook's big statement on Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma exit - 'Now there's a clean slate in Indian dressing room'

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma (AFP Photo)

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Nick Knight EXCLUSIVE: On Shubman Gill and absence of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma in England

As India step into a new era under Shubman Gill ’s leadership in the five-match Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy Test series against England, former England captain Alastair Cook has made a telling observation about the impact of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma ’s retirement from Test cricket.Speaking on The Overlap Cricket YouTube channel, Cook said the Indian dressing room has now entered a phase of reset - not just in terms of personnel, but in psychological and cultural dynamics. According to Cook, Kohli and Rohit were such commanding presences that their actions and decisions were rarely, if ever, challenged - regardless of performance."What I can't work out and will find out obviously is by taking those two really experienced players out - Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli - who have been really a bit on the downslide, is the impact they have in the dressing room is now gone," Cook remarked."No matter how… when you take senior players out like that, even if they are great leaders, they might get things wrong, but no one is ever questioning those two in that change room. So now there's almost a clean slate."Kohli and Sharma's Test exits came last month, with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, which India lost 3–1, being their last outings in the format. Kohli finished with 190 runs at an average of 23.75, including a century in the opening Test, while Rohit had a lean patch, managing only 31 runs in five innings.Cook acknowledged that, despite the absence of the two veterans, India's batting depth remains formidable."One thing we know - they're going to be so talented. They could pick, I reckon, 18 batsmen almost of the same quality now. And it'll be really interesting to see whether that talent, without those two there - and I'm not saying they shouldn't be in - can rise to the occasion."India's new-look side under Gill faces England's Bazball aggression in a series that is expected to test their adaptability and temperament.The first Test begins Friday at Headingley, marking the start of the Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy era, a tribute to two cricketing legends and a symbolic handover from one generation to the next.

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