Legendary England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott believes that Rohit Sharma “will not be missed” as much as Virat Kohli in the upcoming Test series against England. Both Virat and Rohit announced their retirements from Test cricket ahead of the five-match series in England. In his latest column, Boycott acknowledged the class of Rohit but added that his recent dip in form tipped the scale towards Kohli.  “Rohit was a superb batsman. At his best, a beautiful stroke player, but he will not be missed as much as Kohli because his Test record was good rather than exceptional. In the last couple of years his batting was a little inconsistent which was not surprising in his late 30s,” Boycott wrote on Telegraph.

“Rohit was never a natural athlete like Kohli and he knows that opening the innings in England can be pretty tough because the new ball moves around more. You really have to be up for the challenge to have any chance of success. I just think that over time the wear and tear of opening the innings and being captain in all three formats wore him down,” he added.

Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant announced that he will continue to stick to the number five in the upcoming five high-stakes Tests against England, while newly-crowned Test captain Shubman Gill will take stalwart Virat Kohli’s number four spot in the format.

After Virat bid adieu to the Test format last month, speculations were heavily revolving around who would take up the mantle of bearing the responsibility of playing at number four, a spot that has been held by the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.

Recent reports placed Gill as the forerunner, and the rumours turned into reality. A couple of days before the series opener at Headingley, Pant confirmed that the 25-year-old will drop from number three and embrace a new role in the red-ball setup.

“I think there is still discussion going on, who’s going to play three, but definitely four and five are fixed. I think Shubman is going to bat at number four, and I am going to stick to number five as of now, and the rest, we are going to keep on discussing that,” Pant said during a press conference on Wednesday.

While playing at number three, Shubman featured in 17 matches and garnered 1,019 runs at 37.74, with three centuries and as many fifties, all coming on home turf.

In overseas conditions, Gill has featured in seven Tests and managed just 212 runs at 19.27. Besides captaincy, Gill will have to take the legacy of the number four spot to a new level, considering how Virat and Tendulkar made the position their own.

(With ANI inputs)