When the Indian team embarks on their five-Test campaign against England at Leeds on June 20, it will also be a beginning of a new era in India’s Test batting line-up. Given the Test retirements of skipper Rohit Sharma and the legendary Virat Kohli, head coach Gautam Gambhir will have to depend on relative newcomers who will be put to the toughest test in swinging English conditions. 

Tough test beckons

Former Test cricketers Wasim Jaffer, Pravin Amre and Nilesh Kulkarni, however, feel that though this is a challenge, India’s young brigade can ace the acid test in Old Blighty. “You cannot buy experience in any supermarket. Both [Kohli and Rohit] are very experienced, but having said that, we have to move on. Yes, this [England tour] will be an acid test for the newcomers or the relatively inexperienced India players because England has always been a challenging place to tour, but this is also a brilliant opportunity for our new batters to show what they are capable of,” Amre, 56, who played 11 11 Tests, told mid-day on Thursday.