"I didn't get the entire team since I became the captain of India.."- Rohit Sharma's potential dig at Virat Kohli for skipping the England Tests

India captain Rohit Sharma has called the ongoing series against England his most challenging assignment since he took charge as a captain. The Mumbai star replaced Virat Kohli as the captain of the Test team in 2022. His first assignment was the home series against Sri Lanka in 2022 before the four-match series against Australia in 2023.

It was followed by the ICC World Test Championship final in England and the tour of West Indies. His next assignment was the two-Test series in South Africa before the ongoing series.

Under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, India won the home series against Sri Lanka and Australia before losing the WTC final. The Indian team bounced back by winning the series in West Indies and drew the two-match series in South Africa. India have also clinched the ongoing series against England.

Rohit Sharma on his most challenging series as captain:

England stunned Team India by 28 runs in the series opener in Hyderabad and justified the pre-series hype. Many believed that the Ben Stoker-led side has what it takes to beat India in their backyard. The absence of some key players such as Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul only put more pressure on Team India.

However, the Rohit Sharma-led side bounced back in style and won the next three Tests to clinch the five-match series with a Test to go. India won the second Test by 106 runs before inflicting a humiliating 434-run defeat on the visitors in the third Test. The hosts won the fourth Test by five wickets to take an unassailable 3-1 lead.

Speaking ahead of the fifth Test, Rohit Sharma called the series his most challenging assignment as a captain. He also pointed out that he has hardly had the full squad to pick his team from since he became the captain two years ago.

“I don’t predict the future. When the series starts we know what are our strengths and what are opponent’s strengths. My role is of a batter, I have to score runs. Since the time I became captain, I didn’t get the entire team. It’s not an excuse. We want to keep the environment fine. When England were playing well and playing shots we needed to be patient and back ourselves,” said Rohit Sharma.