While India have still two ODIs remaining against Afghanistan, conversations about the future are going on regarding Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Former England spinner Graeme Swann said that it is simply the reality facing every great player in the latter stages of their career as well. With India set to travel to England in July for a three-match ODI series following the Afghanistan series, Swann added that talks surrounding Rohit and Kohli is only natural as a younger generation are ready to take on.

“Absolutely. I think it’s inevitable with any player when you come to the latter stage of your career, the second half of your career, if you like, that people naturally start looking for your successor, no matter how well you do,” Swann told PTI Videos in an exclusive interview. “And even if you’re at the top of your game, they’re still looking like, who will be the next Virat? Who will be the next Rohit when they go? That’s very natural.”

“And the second you have one or two low scores, everyone starts looking over your shoulder and seeing who’s next in line. And obviously, with Sooryavanshi coming through and some of the youngsters, it puts even more onus on the guys, especially at the top of the order for India.” Swann stated again.

“So I think it’s a huge six weeks for Rohit. But like I said, in the IPL, he looks in great touch and he’s still one of the best players going, let’s face it. So if I was an English bowler, I wouldn’t really want to bowl against a Rohit Sharma who’s desperate to prove a point and keep his place,” he added.

While discussions around India’s legends continue, Swann also stated that both Rohit and Kohli remain formidable propositions for opposition bowlers as well. He also believes that India’s upcoming ODI series in England will be important for the two of game’s biggest names as well.

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“Yeah, it’s going to be huge. Anytime England play India, it’s a massive series, especially recently. And with all the nonsense going on in England as well, I think they’ll really appreciate a bit of spotlight going on the actual cricket rather than off the field stuff,” he shared.

“From an English point of view, England will hope that Virat and Rohit are sidetracked by a World Cup coming and not thinking about that because that will affect performance. India have got to make sure they’re not sidetracked by that. But this is Rohit and Virat. They know what they’re doing and they’ll go out there,” he added.

“It should be, touch wood, should be dry and the ball shouldn’t do too much at that time. The white ball tends to be easier to bat against than the red ball in England. So it could be very good batting conditions for both of them, which doesn’t augur very well for England,” he shared again.

He also opened up about the 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s India debut after receiving a national call-up for the Ireland and England T20I series.

“Yes, he’s a special talent. Like I said earlier, I wouldn’t want to bowl him. He’s at that age that he’s completely fearless because he’s not had failure. But, you know, having done well before and big runs in the under-19s, going into the IPL and people saying, you know, after he got a couple of starts and then you remember people bowled yorkers and said, ‘Oh, we’ve found him out,” he said.

“You can’t do it time and time and time again against world-class bowlers. But he got better and better as the IPL went on. And those couple of 90s in the playoffs, they were ridiculous. I was there for one of them, the one in Chandigarh. It was the most audacious knock from a 15-year-old kid. He is world-class and I’m glad I’m not playing anymore.” Swann admitted.

“You know, I didn’t see it coming, but I understand that Indian cricket, because of the IPL and because of the time of year that these squads get picked, it almost seemed like it was on the cards, rightly or wrongly, but I think SKY is brilliant. I loved his captaincy. I think he’s very good. Ever since he stood up to Virat at that time in the IPL, for an Indian player to stand up to a legend like that and just say, ‘Hey, come on, it’s not all about you’, I’ve loved him since then,” he opined on.

Graeme Swann was also enthusiastic about Team India’s new left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, who claimed six wickets in his debut against Afghanistan in the one-off Test as well.

“He is gold dust. I’m telling you this now. And I know people will get carried away saying he’s only played one Test. After he bowled about 10 balls, just watching his action, the way it came out of his hand, everything. He is gold dust. He’s a world-class spinner and will be for 10 years. Just trust me on this. And I wish he was English,” he concluded.