Even with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma no longer playing Test cricket, India, with Shubman Gill at the helm, played well enough to tie the five-match series against England 2-2. India was on top in most of the play sessions. Akash Deep, a less talked about but important player, took 13 wickets in three games, with 10 in one game, helping India win the second Test at Edgbaston. Akash Deep says Kohli’s absence wasn’t a big deal for the team.
When asked if the team missed Kohli, Akash Deep chose instead to talk about the team’s spirit. This is a team, he said in an interview with Aaj Tak. I believe that one day I may not be here, but the team will still feel the same. It’s not about one person; it’s about all 11 of us.
Akash Deep’s view matches what head coach Gautam Gambhir has always said, pushing for everyone in the team to get credit, not just the big names. Akash Deep and Kohli have played together before, and Kohli even gave him one of his bats.
Kohli announced he was retiring from Test matches during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. He had a great career, becoming India’s most successful Test captain and scoring 9,230 runs in 123 Tests. Despite Kohli and Rohit leaving the Test team, India managed just fine. Gill was a leader, scoring 754 runs in five Tests, which is the second-most runs scored by an Indian in a series ever.
KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja also scored over 500 runs in the series, and Rishabh Pant scored 479, but he missed the last Test because he was injured. Yashasvi Jaiswal hit two centuries, and Washington Sundar hit one, making it a series to remember with the bat for the visiting team.
Also, even without Jasprit Bumrah, India’s pace bowlers had a chance to shine. Mohammed Siraj took the most wickets in the series with 23, while Akash Deep took 13 and Prasidh Krishna took 14.