'Kohli will have one thing to worry about': Ex-India player highlights fragility in squad

Former Indian cricketer Vijay Bharadwaj has highlighted one worrying factor for Virat Kohli and his boys ahead of World Test Championship (WTC) final in England. Bharadwaj, who has played 10 ODIs and 3 Test matches for India, believes that the Indian team will only succeed if the opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill perform well. Bharadwaj, while speaking to Sportskeeda, said the onus is on Rohit and Gill, who will have to bat well in order to give the middle-order a chance.

Bharadwaj reckoned that New Zealand will have an advantage if they get the wickets of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara early on in the game. He said in order to get to the middle-order, the Kiwis will first have to uproot wickets of Gill and Rohit, who must play well to give India a good start. Bharadwaj said the inexperience of Gill and Rohit's inexperience of playing Tests in England is one thing to worry about. "If the openers are fragile, the middle-order looks fragile," he added. 

India's tour of England

India is all set to travel to the United Kingdom early next month for the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand and the subsequent Test series against England. The Virat Kohli-led side will first lock horns against the Kiwis in a one-off Test match in Southampton, starting June 18, and will then play a five-match Test series against the host between August and September. The Test match between India and New Zealand will decide the winner of the two-year-long Test championship that had started in 2019.

India’s 20-member squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (WK), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper). 

(Image Credit: PTI)