With several seniors retired, it will add some pressure: Vikram Rathour

Ahead of the England Test series, the former Team India batting coach Vikram Rathour feels that it is going to be a tough series for the young Indian side.

“It`s going to be a tough tour. It`s not going to be an easy tour because the seniors have retired a lot. So, the young team is leaving. There could be a new captain. So, all these things will add a little bit of pressure,” said Vikram Rathour post Rajasthan Royals` IPL 2025 victory over Chennai Super Kings.

The young bunch of Indian cricketers will tour England to engage in the five-match Test series without the likes of three big guns, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin.

Further, he feels that it is also an opportunity for young players to showcase their skills at the highest level.

“But also it`s an opportunity to showcase your talent and your ability,” he added.

Speaking about the retirements of three stalwarts, Rathour stated that it is a very personal decision.

“All three of them were phenomenal cricketers who retired. So, I would have loved for them to carry on. But it`s, again, a very, very personal decision. I`m close to all three of them,” said the former Team India batting coach.

Shubman Gill will most likely be India`s new Test skipper and will have a new-look top and middle order. The five-match series will begin on June 20 at Leeds, marking the start of a new World Test Championship cycle.

Later, expressing his views about RR`s young prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Rathour said, “We`ve been working with him for quite some time now, maybe three to four months now. We`ve seen all these aspects, but it`s great to see when he`s doing that in a game, in pressure situations, in a big game like even today. You`re right, the ball was doing a bit when he went in, hardly got any balls, didn`t get on strike too much in the power play”.

Speaking about Rajasthan`s poor performances in the IPL 2025, the 56-year-old stated that the side didn`t field well throughout the tournament.

“I don`t think we fielded very well throughout the tournament. Bowling did let us down a few times where you let them score too many runs, 10, 15 extra runs mostly every game,” he said.

The former right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman also said that batting was RR`s strength, but despite having a strong lineup, they got terrific starts.

“And then again, with batting also, batting was our strength. We had retained five batters in the squad, and that is, I believe, our strength. And, you know, we got terrific starts at times,” concluded the veteran of six Test matches.

(With PTI Inputs)

This article first appeared on Mid Day