India's five-Test tour of England will be a special series as it will be the first time in more than a decade that the team will lack the services of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in Test cricket. Both legends had declared their retirement from red-ball cricket in May 2025, ending two glorious careers. KL Rahul, now the most senior batter in the team, uncovered that it would be a weird experience to walk onto the field without them. Rahul, the debutter in the Test arena in 2014, has played most of his career with Kohli as his captain or with Rohit batting alongside him. Now that he has to lead the inexperienced batsmen line-up, Rahul is positive and geared up for the new challenge. Still, he does miss Kohli and Rohit not being there in the change room. Here is what Rahul said to his Indian Premier League side, Delhi Capitals media team “Virat and Rohit have been the pillars of Indian cricket for the last decade or so, and not having them around will be a huge miss. In my whole career so far, I have never walked into a team where there is no Virat or Rohit. The 50-odd Test matches that I have played, either Virat or Rohit or both of them have been there. To walk into that dressing room feels a bit strange. But of course, you have to respect their decision. They have given absolutely everything for the country and they will remain legends of Indian cricket. But it’s time for the rest of us to step up,” Read also: Mukesh Kumar’s Post Fuels Row Over Harshit Rana Test Call-Up Rohit, India's highest run-scorer during the 2021–22 England tour, and Kohli, India's captain from 2014 to 2022, are missing, and this has created a leadership gap. Nevertheless, since Shubman Gill was appointed as the captain of the team, and Rishabh Pant is standing by his side as the vice-captain, the new Indian team is likely to introduce a new style of cricket. At the same time, Rahul is getting into his third English Test series. Having scored 614 runs in nine Tests, including two hundreds, he knows the conditions by heart. "I started with my preparations for the England series right after the IPL. I spoke to my coach as well to get prepared for this assignment. It's always a challenge coming to England as they are a pretty good side, especially when they play at home. It's going to be a challenge for all of us as we are a comparatively young team,"