Indian veteran batter KL Rahul admitted that the absence of his former teammates, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin, hit him for two weeks during the five-Test match series against England. This was India's first Test series after the retirement of Rohit, Virat and Ashwin.
Ashwin announced his retirement in Australia after the Gabba Test. After that, Rohit and Virat bid adieu to the longest format of the game in May before the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025. After Rohit's retirement, BCCI announced Shubman Gill as his successor to lead India in whites and KL Rahul was promoted as an opener alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. After India's narrow win in the fifth Test match against England, KL Rahul broke the silence on the trio's absence while lauding Gill's captaincy.
"Not having Rohit, Virat, and Ashwin hit me two weeks in. Everyone was coming to me to ask about English conditions. Then it hit me I've stepped into a different role now. Gill's been phenomenal, led from the front. He's formed connections, he's done that. Tactically good, changes have gotten us wickets. He'll go on to become a good Test captain" said KL Rahul after India's six-run win.
KL Rahul, who was part of India's ICC Champions Trophy 2025 winning squad, believes that winning means everything.
"Win means absolutely everything. I've played cricket for years. Won the Champions Trophy, seen the team lift the World Cup. Nothing compares to that. But so many questions about whether Test cricket stays or not, but both answered that question here with the way we've played. We weren't given a chance, but we've fought in every game and got 2-2, might be a draw, but for Indian Test cricket, this will rank right at the top, and this is where change begins" added KL Rahul.
Shubman Gill-led India registered a six-run win against England in a nail-biting fifth and final Test at The Oval in London to draw the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series 2-2 after weeks of intense, back-and-forth battle against England. Speedster Mohammed Siraj was the standout performer, taking 5 wickets for 104 runs in what was one of the best performances of his career. He ended the series as the leading wicket-taker with 23 scalps.