Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Putting Pressure On Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma? England Great's Huge Claim

The arrival of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi may have given Indian cricket its brightest prospect in years, but according to former England spinner Graeme Swann, it has also intensified the spotlight on veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as the countdown to the 2027 ODI World Cup gathers pace.

Rohit, 39, and Kohli, 37, are the oldest players in India’s ODI team and are pushing their bodies, suffering more injuries than ever, to make their case for the World Cup. As two of the best batters the country has seen, they are likely used to this constant attention, but the talks are now different, with discussions around if they are good enough to stay ahead of youngsters, making every match they play doubly important.

“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. “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.”

For Swann, Sooryavanshi’s emergence has added a new dimension to that debate.

“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.”

The former England spinner believes the coming weeks, which include the remaining two ODIs against Afghanistan and three matches against England in July, will be particularly significant for Rohit. But he also insisted the Mumbaikar still looks in outstanding touch.

“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.

‘Glad I am not playing.’

Sopryavanshi has also been selected for the T20i squad against Ireland and England, becoming the youngest to do so. Swann described the teenager as a special talent whose lack of fear has been one of his greatest strengths.

He noted that attempts to expose technical weaknesses during the IPL ultimately failed, with the teenager adapting quickly and producing increasingly dominant performances as the tournament progressed.

“He’s at that age that he’s completely fearless because he’s not had failure,” Swann said. “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.’ 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… He is world-class and I’m glad I’m not playing anymore.”