India will miss the aura of Virat Kohli standing at slips and chirping away: Ollie Pope
"It's a young team, but these Indian players they have got so much depth and talent," Ollie Pope said.
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Ollie Pope, England's red-ball vice-captain, is gearing up to play an important role in the forthcoming five-match Test series against India. The first Test is scheduled to be played at Headingley, Leeds. India will not have the services of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who announced their retirements from the longest format last month.
Pope said that India have a lot of talent and depth in the young side that they have picked for the highly-anticipated England tour. However, the 27-year-old also mentioned that India will miss Kohli's aura and the intimidating presence he had while standing at slips, chirping away at the opposition batters.
"It's a young team, but these Indian players they have got so much depth and talent. So they've got a lot of young guys coming through; a lot of good players. Shubman Gill, their new captain, is a fantastic player. They will miss the aura of Virat Kohli standing at slips and chirping away. But they have got some good talent, so they will feel confident. But our players are ready for it," Pope said during an interaction with talkSPORT cricket.
Furthermore, the Chelsea-born said that locking horns with a quality side like India will be an interesting challenge, which will serve as great preparation for the Three Lions, with the Ashes set to be played later this year in Australia.
"It's a great time for us to play India. Last summer, we had the West Indies and Sri Lanka, but with India coming over, the level of quality that they will bring is a great way for us to focus on that and not look ahead. So yeah, for us, it's the perfect time to play India, and then once the Ashes come around, it will be exciting," Pope added.
Ollie Pope's troubles against India
Pope would want to improve his record against India during the upcoming series. The right-handed batter has only scored 615 runs from 25 innings against the Asian giants at a dismal average of 24.60. Interestingly, three out of Pope's four ducks in Test cricket have come against India.
Pope wasn't at his best in the 2024-25 season, as he scored just 249 runs from 10 innings at an average of 24.90. However, he bounced back into form with a 166-ball 171 against Zimbabwe last month in a four-day Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
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