Team India Test captain Shubman Gill (left) and former England batter Nick Knight. (BCCI | Getty) TimesofIndia.com in Leeds: Ahead of the first India-England Test in Leeds from June 20, TimesofIndia.com spoke to former England batter Nick Knight who explained why there is a lot of intrigue attached to the series in absence of stalwarts Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin. The former cricketer further explained what Shubman Gill needs to do to find success as a batter in this part of the world, ideal bowling combinations, the likely conditions and a lot more. Edited Excerpts:First thoughts on the start of what is being called a new era for the Indian cricket team.Well, you’re absolutely right. Obviously, now with no Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, there’s a kind of different feel, different look to the side. I think it’s hugely exciting. I think if just on that point, I think if ever a time where in recent past where India would cope with the loss of two such players, I think it’s now. I’m very lucky. I work a lot in India and I get to see some of these young kids that are coming through.And boy, can they play and how exciting that they are. And when you transition from being sort of young, developing talent into international cricketer of note, you look at the developmental stage of where you’re at. And some of these guys, Sai Sudharsan for me, is ready to play international cricket now.
Poll
Do you think India can win the Test series against England without Kohli, Rohit, and Ashwin?
I mean, international Test match cricket. Some of these guys now, they’re ready to move on. So I think the timing is good and I think it’s going to be a fantastic series. Do I think England start as slight favourites, by the way? Yes, I do. I do. I think England start as slight favourites. But I think it’s going to be a crackerjack of a series. Absolutely. You know, exciting brand of cricket.
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Shubman Gill is the new India Test captain. A young captain who is still work-in-progress as far as Test batting is concerned. There will be high expectations. What do you make of this both for Gill and Team India?I mean, there are such expectations and probably more so in your great country and with cricket. And what you expect of your players and the level that you expect them to play day in, day out. Realistically, you’re absolutely right. You know, he’s learning the trade and it’s going to be a tough tour for him. But the one thing I would say with Shubman is I think he’ll be fine tactically. I think he’ll be fine leading the side. I think he’ll be fine as a captain. The one area which none of us know the answer to really. We’ll all have our opinions on it. But none of us really know how he’s going to cope with the expectation he puts on himself and dealing with his own time. Dealing with his own batting.Giving himself time to be the high class player he is. When you’re captain of a side, all of a sudden you have not quite so much time to prepare for yourself. And a lot of his batting skills and his batting will have been because he’s had time to think about himself. Develop his own game. Understand his own game. Go into the test match knowing exactly how he’s going to play.All of a sudden he’s got 10 or 11 other guys that he’s got to worry about. That’ll be a great challenge for him, I think. Can he kind of, with the help of the coach, can he kind of section off and still have time to concern himself with his own game? And how that’s going to look in the most important moments. I don’t know the answer to that. I’m not sure he does right now. But he’ll find that out as he goes along in this test match series.I think that’s going to be pretty crucial because every side, and England will do it. You can bet your bottom dollar, England will do it. No side is more vulnerable than when its captain is feeling a little under pressure and vulnerable. That has a huge impact on the whole dressing room, right? So England will target Shubman Gill. England will try and knock him over. England will try and make him feel uncomfortable.Because they’ll feel that that might have a knock-on effect with those around him. So it’s a huge series for Shugman Gill. Who, by the way, I am a huge fan of. And have been for a long, long time. I remember seeing Shubman at 18, 19 in an Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand. And I went, wow, this boy can play.You were doing commentary during the last India-England Test series, in India. It was again a very high-pressure series for Shubman who was in desperate need for runs. But he responded in emphatic fashion in that series and then gave a good account of his leadership for Gujarat Titans in the IPL – not an ideal start in his first season as captain but led the side well in the 2025 edition. Anything that stood out for you?The thing about test match cricket, and I’ve been lucky enough to play it over the years, the thing is that all the stuff you just mentioned there, it tests you. It tests your resilience. It tests your ability to come back. It’s not all going to be plain sailing. There are going to be moments where you question yourself. There are going to be moments where everyone questions you.There are going to be moments where you go away and say, how can I do that better? And these are sort of natural thought processes that you go in. And your reference to Shubman there, he would have gone through that endless times and will do so more in the future. It’s how you bounce back from that.Will he be okay as a Test batter in English conditions too?I think his game is in good enough order to do that regularly. The one thing, technically, you want to just make sure that his front foot doesn’t come too far across a little bit sometimes, so that he’s playing at balls outside or stump. He doesn’t have to. But that will be a major area, I think, where England will. And that’s the same with every top order player. But I think someone like Shubman, they’ll look at that.In England, the thing with England and being in the top order in English conditions, you can’t leave the ball on length. When you play in the Southern Hemisphere, the likes of Australia, South Africa, you can leave that ball on length because the ball’s going to be going over the stumps. Here in the UK, it’s a little bit more tricky to do that.You can do it sometimes, but often you can’t. And so you end up getting drawn into that ball on that off-stump line because you’re not sure if it’s going to go over the stumps or hit the top of off-stump. And that is where you have to be really, really in tune, your head on that top of off-stump line, nice and still, so your judgment is really good.I think that’s where England will look to move it back in, a little bit to Shubman Gill as well, to try and hit those pads. So he’s going to be tested technically, absolutely for sure. Is he up to it? Absolutely.Big, big tick. But it’s that ability to be able to focus on his game, as well as being the pressures of all that goes with being an Indian Test match captain. I wish him well. I think he’s the right man for the job, by the way. I really do. I know there are a number of other options. I think he’s the right man for the job. And deep down, obviously, I hope England win the series. But I really hope Shubman Gill has a series to remember.You just mentioned how it’s difficult to leave on length in England. I interviewed former England captain Graham Gooch who said it has been a very dry summer. You reckon that will have a say on the pitches which will be dished out for the series? How much will overhead conditions affect that?Yeah, I mean, absolutely. The thing I’d add to that is, I mean, you know, Goochy (Gooch) played some great innings at Headingley. He knows conditions there for that first Test match. I mean, I’ve got a Test match 100 at Headingley. There’s a bit of a myth there that Headingley is a green seamer that goes all over the place, that seamers just hit a length and it goes left, it goes right. It is a little bit of a myth. And that’s your point that I’m going to lead to, is the weather conditions in the UK at the moment are very good. And I think it’s set fair.I mean, I’m down south here in the UK, but I think up north in Headingley, I think it’s still pretty set fair. So if that’s the case, the pitch is going to be pretty good. I mean, I think we’ll have good surfaces. However, you know, then there’s still not southern hemisphere bounce. It’s not like playing in Australia where you can see a length and you can lead. There are pitches in the UK where you can do that, oval perhaps more so than others.And there are pitches, but it’s not quite so commonplace. And therefore, as a batter, when you go out there, you’re more lining up your head-on-off stump and you’re more lining up which to play and which to lead based on the fact that it’s not going to go over the stumps unless it’s really short. So there are just little things there that you have to be aware of when you’re playing and trying to set yourself up to be successful in the UK.KL Rahul. I’ll go there. KL Rahul did it quite brilliantly at Member of the Lord’s last time round. I was there. I was working on that Test. I remember sitting around that amazing media centre and watching KL Rahul leave the ball quite brilliantly outside off stump.And that really, if you’re looking at any area as to why he was successful on that day, in its simplest form, it was that. Good wickets would give some breathing space to this inexperienced Indian batting line-up? By inexperienced I mean players who haven’t played a lot in this part of the world. So will these pitches be better than the green carpets which have been rolled out for Team India in the past?Yeah. I mean, we’re making an assumption that we’re going to have good wickets. I mean, I think that would be the case. I don’t think England would want anything else but good wickets. I mean, the way they play the game, they’re going to want the surface. So, if we’re to assume that that’s the case, absolutely. Yeah. I mean, the other point that I would allude to on the basis of what you’ve just said is that they’ve got two or three warm-up games. I mean, these things like warm-up games, it’s almost irrelevant in the world game now.Touring is not – these things don’t generally happen as much as they used to. So, you know, KL Rahul got 100 opening the batting in the last game. He’s got a half century. You know, Jaiswal hasn’t scored big runs. I think he’s got a half century. But he’s been out there in the middle, in a competitive environment.He’s starting to formulate his ideas. He’s starting to formulate plans of how he might go about his batting. Now, all these things have got relevance come, Headingley, June the 20th.So, I think you’re right. I think if it’s a good pitch – I mean, it’s looking, obviously, slightly more inexperienced there with India’s top order. They want a good pitch. Absolutely. They also – that English bowling line-up is looking a whole lot different to what it might have looked like. Let’s be honest. You know, no Joffrey Archer. No Mark Wood. No Gus Atkinson. No Ollie Stone. You know, there are four pacers there. Three or four of them might have found themselves in a front-line 11.So, things are looking a little different for India’s top order than perhaps they might have done. Yeah. Now, quite naturally, the conversation has evolved a lot around the batters because no one better to speak to you than you.
I think England start as slight favourites. But I think it’s going to be a crackerjack of a series
Nick Knight
Over 200 First Class games. 40 Test hundreds… You definitely know more than a thing or two about batting in these conditions. But I will slightly take you towards the bowling bit because you touched upon England’s bowling composition. What are your thoughts on India bowlers? And the situation which they could face somewhere in the series where Jasprit Bumrah will have to sit out to manage his workload. Will it have a big impact?I mean, there is no better bowler in the world right now. There is no more impactful bowler in the world. He (Bumrah) can change a game just like that. So, clearly, the obvious answer is yes. I think where you have to go with that is just try and work out what that bowling line-up is going to look like with and without him. Now, for me, I have got quite strong views on this. We all know how England want to play. They are aggressive.They will take you on. They are much more refined, by the way, than I think they were a couple of years ago with this whole approach. They will also sit in. I think they will be quite respectful of Bumrah when he comes on. I don’t think they are going to try and pelt him back over his head for 4 and 6 every ball. So, I think they will be a bit more refined.
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They are more refined. So, really, what the question mark for India’s bowling line-up is how can they take wickets regularly? How can they knock England back? Because that is the only way they are going to stop them from scoring quickly. They bat deep. They bat big. They bat strong. So, for me, I think they have got to be really clever here how they line up as a bowling unit.There is obviously going to be a temptation to play one of Nitish and Shardul. One is slightly stronger with the bat. One is slightly stronger with the ball. That is fine. But for me, whatever you do with your bowling line-up, it has to have an aggressive intent. It has to be thinking wickets. Don’t worry too much about the runs. The runs are going to come against you anyway. So, I am not against Arshdeep playing, by the way. Because I just like the variation. I like the left armer. I like the fact that when you look at England, they keep going at bowlers.They keep going strong. What does Arshdeep do as a living, day in, day out? He tries to absorb batters coming at him in T20 cricket. He has got a good bowling craft, for me. He has got a good ability to outthink and think about what the batters are doing. I like that. I think that might hold true here in this series. So, I think he is an option. Prasidh Krishna, another one. Tall, bouncy bowler.There might be conditions where he might be pretty useful. So, Siraj and Bumrah is a given. I think England, I think India have got to play sometimes four frontline bowlers. It might be that they have to attack, attack, attack with four frontline bowlers.The danger sometimes with sides when you play in England is that you go, do you know what, we will try and lengthen that batting line up a little bit. We will play someone who is good at seven and eight and who might give us a bit of both. I think with this side against England, you have got to attack at all costs. So, go with your most likely wicket tapers with the ball. And if that means slightly extending your tail a little bit, then I am afraid that is going to have to be. Last point on this, Kuldeep.I think Kuldeep is a major player. I really do think he is a major player. I think he is a major player. And if this weather stays like this, for me, then take out one of your seamers, maybe play three and play Jadeja and Kuldeep. Because Kuldeep for me holds so much of a key against England. I think he is one of the bowlers. Bumrah obviously the other. I think Kuldeep would be another. England find it hard.If Kuldeep bowls well, England will find it hard to attack him. They want to attack. If they are not quite sure which way the ball is turning, Harry Brook and the like, they are going to find that whole lot harder than a seamer who is just bowling it up and down. I think Kuldeep plays a major role here. Yeah. The last time you were doing commentary for an India-England series, Ravichandran Ashwin was still giving it a rip. Rohit Sharma was scoring a 100. Virat Kohli was part of the Test setup, but he was on a paternity leave due to the birth of his second child. Now, cut to present 2025, three stalwarts are gone from the setup. How do you see that from the standpoint of the series being built up? What kind of hype are you seeing? Yeah, I think it’s a good question. And I think the best answer I can give is there’s a lot of intrigue. There’s a lot of interest because some of the names are slightly different. And it’s like, how is this group going to do? Because I can tell you back in the UK, there was a huge amount of interest in the IPL. I mean, huge amount of following, interest. And the guys that follow cricket in this country follow the IPL in many ways.
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And so they know these guys. They know Shubham and Gill inside out. They know Sai Sudharsan. They’ve seen them play in this great tournament. And so their question is the same as, I guess, many. It’s like, well, how are they going to go in a Test Match series in England when they’ve not really played that much, some of these guys? You know, they’re fresh behind the ears.They’ve not played that much Test Match cricket. There’s no Kohli. So there’s an intrigue level, I think, about just how this young Indian side, inexperienced Indian side in many ways is going to go. There’s a slightly different feel about it. I think that’s the best way I can describe it. But huge amount of interest, huge amount of just wanting to see how this is all going to play out. I mean, it is one of the great series. It really is. I hope the weather conditions stay fit and fine and well so that we can get a lot of cricket.Because the word I use, the catchphrase I use, as well as others, is entertainment. We’re going to be provided with a huge amount of entertainment here. It’s going to be jam-packed with entertainment. If India, just to finish off your question, if India can cope with no Rohit, no Ashwin, no Kohli, I think it’s now. I think a couple of years ago, I don’t think they would have coped as well. Because I think some of these guys that are coming in are now ready to take on the mantle.I think a couple of years has made a big difference. And I think this India side can cause England a problem. England started as favourites, but some of these guys are seriously… I mean, we haven’t mentioned Sai Sudharsan, I think he’s a seriously good player.
