Team India will be playing without Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the longest format as the two recently announced their retirement from Test cricket. Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has urged the fans to calm down and compared the current situation to the retirement of the Fab Four of the Indian cricket. Within a week, both Rohit and Kohli bid adieu, leaving a significant void in leadership ahead of the upcoming Test series in England.

According to Manjrekar, this success was driven by India’s abundant talent pool, which he believes continues to provide the nation with a competitive edge.

“I understand some fans may feel concerned. When the Fab Four retired simultaneously, there was a similar sense of worry. But, just a few years later, India were ranked number one in Test format ,” Manjrekar said.

Manjrekar remains optimistic, reminding fans that India successfully handled similar challenges in the past. After the retirement of the ‘Fab Four’ – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, and Sourav Ganguly, India climbed to the top of the ICC rankings, showcasing the country’s rich talent pool and its capacity to evolve and succeed.

Despite losing these Test greats, India continued to thrive, eventually reaching the top of the ICC rankings under Kohli’s captaincy.

“As long as cricket remains popular in India, and there are plenty of young players eager to represent the country, we will not be impacted. With so many aspiring cricketers in India, it is not tough to find talented players.”

Manjrekar also commented on how the exit of the Fab Four aligned with the emergence of a much more potent bowling attack.

“It will take some time, but let’s not panic. Just look at what happened after the departure of the Fab Four. The quality of Indian bowling significantly improved. The same can happen now. New stars, especially bowlers, will emerge, and India will continue to remain one of the top teams globally,” Manjrekar concluded.