Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh believes that England, South Africa, and Australia are some of the very difficult tours as the Shubman Gill-led side are currently preparing in England for the upcoming assignment. India are scheduled to play a five-Test match series against England, which will start from June 20. With veterans likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announcing retirement from the longest format of the game, Harbhajan said that the team will lack experience in England.
However, India's 2011 World Cup-winning captain backed Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant, citing their performance in the team's iconic win at the Gabba during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2021.
"England, South Africa, and Australia, these three tours are very difficult. Shubman Gill is the young captain and the team with him is also young. Now, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are not there. Many experienced players are not with the team. The lack of experience will be felt a bit, because this is not an easy tour. This is the most challenging tour. One thing is that our boys are very talented. This pair of Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill played a crucial role in the historic Gabba win" Harbhajan Singh told Amar Ujala.
Harbhajan reckoned that the Indian squad for England have a lot of talent and if they back themselves, then 'sky is the limit'.
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"I hope that our players will perform with enthusiasm. They are young, but have a lot of talent, and if they back themselves, then the sky is the limit" added Harbhajan Singh.
The upcoming five-Test match series against England will be India's first red-ball assignment after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, where Pat Cummins's side defeated India 3-1 in the five-Test match series to seal their spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Batting duo Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirement ahead of the England series after a flop show in Australia. Rohit managed to score 31 runs in five innings and Virat scored 190 runs in five Tests.
India squad for England series
Shubman Gill(C), Rishabh Pant(vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Parishdh Krishna, Akashdeep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav