India all-rounder Shardul Thakur has stated that veteran batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s presence in the Indian dressing room has a massive impact on the younger players. Thakur also added that in ODI and Test squads, having the right mix of youth and experience is important. India beat England by six wickets at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Tuesday, July 14 in the first ODI of the three-match series as well.

During a discussion on Sony Sports, he explained: “We heard Axar’s [Patel] interview. He said that whenever seniors are around in the dressing room, the players get a different kind of confidence. When it comes to longer formats of the game, be it Tests or ODIs, it is important to have the right mix of seniors and juniors. We have seen this in all the great teams. For juniors to excel, it is important for them to get proper guidance from seniors.”

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“With Virat and Rohit in the dressing room, the youngsters are expected to lift their game. And, as they say, you cannot buy experience in the supermarket. You only get it by spending years on the field. The kind of experience the team gets from Rohit and Kohli and the value they bring in the dressing room is unmatched,” he again added.

However, reports have come that the Indian management is trying to convince Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli over adopting the rotation policy in ODIs keeping the 2027 World Cup in mind.

Sources told The Times of India: “The team management doesn’t want a situation where a senior player breaks down and there is no one ready with enough game time. The issue is that Rohit, Kohli and Rahul don’t play much of international white-ball cricket besides ODIs. Rohit may get a full run in England. If his form suffers here, he may not get that run in the following series.”