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“The Outcome Would Have…”: David Lloyd Points To RO-KO Void In India’s Missed Opportunity

Poulomi Chakraborty

David Llyod Misses Rohit-Kohli's Presence (Source: @mufaddal_vohra/x.com)David Llyod Misses Rohit-Kohli's Presence (Source: @mufaddal_vohra/x.com)

Despite fighting with forms, woes, and injury setbacks, Team India’s unreal grit and indomitable effort flipped the script, and the first edition of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy ended in a draw. Despite being under pressure, Team India pulled off a brilliant 6-run victory in the Oval Test.

Even Shubman Gill and Co. ended the series on a draw, former English great David Lloyd believed things might have turned out differently had the iconic RO-KO duo been around.

David Lloyd Pints Highlights Rohit-Kohli’s Absence

Just before the five-match Test series against England, the cricket world was stunned as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli stepped out of the Test format. Being pillars of India’s batting lineup for years, their absence felt, but the young Team India fought back against all the odds under Shubman Gill’s captaincy. Despite all the setbacks, Team India’s undying spirit ended the series on a draw.

Despite India salvaging a thrilling series draw with a nerve-wracking win at The Oval, former England cricketer David Lloyd wasn’t entirely convinced. In his column in The Daily Mail, he said that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s presence could have tilted the result in Team India’s favor.

“India have been very impressive over the series, but they haven’t won the main moments. If Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli were playing, I think the outcome would have been different. Certain players sniff out the main moments and are proactive rather than reactive. Ben Stokes is fabulous at that. India will be scratching their heads thinking how on earth they could lose this 3-1,” Lloyd Said.

Siraj Rises As India’s Silent Destroyer

In the entire Test series, Bumrah’s workload management grabbed attention more than the ace pacer’s performance, but Mohammed Siraj made his game-changing impact almost silently. With an impressive five-wicket haul and a strong performance on the last day at The Oval, Siraj showed his class. His impact didn’t go unnoticed, as even David Lloyd praised India's underrated pace hero.

“All the talk of Jasprit Bumrah, but what a fabulous series for Mohammed Siraj. Whole-hearted, no-nonsense, and a highly skilled bowler. Just look at the two deliveries that did for Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope. An excellent yorker and then the scrambled seam, Jimmy Anderson style. Don’t let the drop take away from anything. Siraj is the leading wicket-taker and rightly so, because he is the best bowler by a distance,” he said.

After facing a heartbreaking defeat at the Lord’s, Team India locked their eyes on the series and rose from the ashes. After a thrilling draw at Manchester, they created history with a brilliant 6-run victory at the Oval. With that series, Team India started a new era of domination under captain Gill.