Former Indian opener Navjot Singh Sidhu has cited the Oval Test win as a tribute to the services and inspiration provided by the veterans Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin.
The visitors beat England by a narrow margin of 6 runs at The Oval, which led the five-match series to conclude in a 2-2 draw. Throughout the series, several young as well as experienced players stepped up on several occasions for India.
India has a long list of batters who performed with the ball, while all their pacers have picked up wickets in crucial matches and have contributed to the team’s performance in some way or another. Just as Ashwin claims, the young players learning from their mistakes and rectifying them has been the most beautiful part of the series.
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Oval Test win a tribute to former veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma
Navjot Singh Sidhu, the former Indian opener, has cited the India vs England series, which ended in a draw with India’s stunning show at The Oval, as a tribute to veterans like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin.
The above-mentioned three greats of the Indian team announced their retirement from the longest format of the game. Ashwin had retired midway through the Border-Gavaskar Test series last year in Australia, while Virat Kohli and Rohit announced their retirement just before the England tour.
Sidhu remarked, “This was a crucial win for India. It reflects that a team has risen; it reflects that the days are gone when you are dependent on just one player or two players are spoken about.”
“This is a tribute to Virat Kohli. I miss his energy today as well. This is a tribute to Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, and all those guys who have inspired this team,” he said on his YouTube channel.
Sidhu praises India for winning Tests without Jasprit Bumrah
Navjot Singh Sidhu, alongside several other cricket pundits, has recently identified in the England series that Jasprit Bumrah is not the decisive factor in the Indian team, as India has won a pair of matches in his absence, while unfortunately losing a couple in his presence.
India won two matches in the series at Edgbaston and at The Oval; both the matches had the bowling trio of Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, and Prasidh Krishna, and Bumrah was rested, citing his workload concerns.
“Winning both the Test matches without Bumrah is also a compliment to this team. His disciples are learning from him and are almost equal to him. It is tough to equal him, but they are winning the team matches. It is time to celebrate the Indian cricket team,” Navjot Singh Sidhu added.
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India pulled off a miracle no one believed they would
The former Indian opener believed that India had pulled off a miracle while no one had given them a chance. In the absence of senior players like Virat Kohli, the question mark on the team’s ability to perform in an overseas tour has been totally erased.
“In the end, when India won, even the whole of England was greeting them. When you do something that the world believes you can’t, then understand that a miracle has happened. When the Indian team left, no one thought they would draw the series,” he said.
Trailing 1-2, India drew the series with an iconic win at The Oval. Sidhu believes this would also instill belief in Shubman Gill as the new Indian Test captain, as several doubts were raised over his ability in the role.
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