Kohli, Rohit exits trigger Test overhaul for India as England tour looms

Indian cricket will enter an uncertain new era next week when selectors name a Test squad without all-time greats Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for the first time in more than a decade.

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Batting great Kohli and captain Rohit both retired from Tests in the past week, leaving Shubman Gill as the front-runner to lead a new-look India in England.

The retirement last year of veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin leaves India without the backbone of the side that was formerly number one in the world Test rankings.

Top-order batsman Gill is favourite to be given the task of starting India's rebuild with the five-Test England series, which begins on June 20 at Headingley. "Gill looks like the heir apparent but his record overseas hasn't looked too great," veteran cricket journalist Ayaz Memon told AFP.

The 25-year-old Gill has scored 1,893 runs at an average of 35.05 in 32 Tests since his debut in 2020, with five hundreds. But in 13 Tests away from home his average is only 29.50.