Even though India still has two ODIs left against Afghanistan, discussions surrounding Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s futures are a constant.
Former England spinner Graeme Swann contends that even the most successful cricket players are unable to avoid inquiries about who will follow after them. He believes that this is just the reality that every great player faces in the later stages of their career.
After the Afghanistan assignment, India is scheduled to play a three-match ODI series in England in July. Swann noted that the scrutiny on Rohit and Kohli is only natural as a younger generation starts to develop.
“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.”
As India continues to strike a balance between known players and up-and-coming talent, Swann thinks the upcoming weeks could be crucial for Rohit.
“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.”
Swann thinks both Rohit and Kohli are still viable options for rival bowlers, even though talks about India’s veterans are still ongoing. When asked about India’s next ODI assignment in England, the former off-spinner predicted that the series would highlight two of the biggest personalities in the game once more.
“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.”
Swann cited Kohli’s outstanding 2026 IPL campaign, in which the 37-year-old scored 675 runs from 16 games, when asked which of the two veterans would garner more attention going into the series given the ODI World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia next year.
Additionally, Swann refrained from characterizing the England series as a crucial task for India’s senior batsmen in preparation for the upcoming ODI World Cup.
“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. 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.”
With 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi poised for an India debut following a national call-up for the Ireland and England T20I series, the discussion unavoidably went to the next generation.
“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.’
“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 also acknowledged that, despite the batter leading the side to victory in the World Cup, he was taken aback by India’s choice to replace Suryakumar Yadav as T20I skipper.
“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.”
Manav Suthar, India’s new left-arm spin entrant, made his Test debut against Afghanistan and took six wickets, which thrilled Swann.
“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.”
