India's show of bench strength eases transition concerns
The HinduIndia may not be contemplating life after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli just yet but the robust display of their fringe players against England will have eased any fears about how they will cope when the old guard steps aside. Kohli, 35, is not playing in the five-test series due to personal reasons, leaving Rohit, a year older, to juggle the captaincy with the burden of leading India's batting. Seven months after Yashasvi Jaiswal burst onto the scene by hitting 171 in his debut test in West Indies, the opener struck back-to-back double hundreds against England. The 22-year-old smashed a record-equalling 12 sixes in his unbeaten 214 in the third test in Rajkot which prompted comparisons with former India opener Virender Sehwag, who was famed for his take-no-prisoners batting. "India has a new @virendersehwag.," former England captain Michael Vaughan posted on X, formerly Twitter, calling Jaiswal "a player who will destroy many attacks in all formats exactly like Viru used to do".