"Would be nice to try and keep them as quiet as we can"- Joe Root on 'greats of the modern era' Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma
Star England batter Joe Root claimed that the visitors are wary of the threat that star Indian batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma pose to the opposition in their ongoing five-match Test series.
Root understands how crucial both Kohli and Rohit are to the current Indian Test team and feels England need to ensure they do not let them get away with big scores.
Here's what Joe Root had to say on Jio Cinema about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma:
"You mentioned two of the greats of the modern era. Of course, there's going to be focus. We know how good they are and they are also very senior within this current Indian batting lineup. You want to make sure that you try and get on top of them early."
He further added:
"They've got the ability to get big scores and we've been on the wrong end of that a few times, so it would be nice to try and keep them as quiet as we can throughout the series."
Kohli hasn't featured in the first two Tests of the series as he requested to be withdrawn from the squad citing personal reasons. However, England have managed to keep Rohit quiet so far, with the Indian captain scoring just 90 runs in the four innings.
India may have to play two more Tests without Virat Kohli
According to a report from ESPNCricinfo, Virat Kohli may also be unavailable for India's next two Tests against England, to be played in Rajkot and Ranchi.
While the BCCI haven't officially revealed the exact reason for his absence, former South African legendary cricketer AB de Villiers recently spoke on his YouTube channel that Virat Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma were expecting their second child.
The report further claimed that KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja have been recovering positively from their injuries and have a good chance of featuring in the third Test in Rajkot beginning on February 15.
With the amount of inexperience in the Indian batting, the return of at least one of them will certainly be a much-needed booster for the hosts. They will want to make the most of their momentum after a 106-run triumph in Visakhapatnam.