'Lay a nice red carpet for them...': Rohit Sharma's secret recipe after England's 4-1 hammering despite senior absentees

India registered a dominant innings win over England in the fifth and final Test, thus securing a 4-1 series win

India maintained their impressive home record by sealing a commanding 4-1 series triumph over England on Saturday. Captain Rohit Sharma lauded the contributions of the team's newcomers, particularly highlighting the immediate impact made by several debutants amidst the absence of key players.

Rohit Sharma during the fifth Test against England (AFP)

Among the five debutants introduced by India in the series, wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, batter Sarfaraz Khan and Devdutt Padikkal, and seamer Akash Deep stood out with their promising performances right from the outset.

The inclusion of these five players was necessitated by the absence of multiple seniors in the Indian lineup; batting mainstay Virat Kohli was unavailable due to personal reasons, while seamer Mohammed Shami's absence was attributed to injury. Additionally, batter KL Rahul missed the last four Tests, further adding to India's selection challenges.

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja also sat out the second Test in Visakhapatnam following injuries sustained by him and Rahul during the series opener in Hyderabad.

Rohit Sharma, speaking to JioCinema following the match, insisted that it was important for the team management to create an atmosphere where every player is relaxed and secure about their place in the side.

“All of these guys are extremely talented. All they needed was a little bit of assurance and a platform. We didn't want to keep putting pressure on them. We wanted to make sure our job at the start of the series was to give them the comfort, and assurance that they're going to play all five Test matches. Because we may not accept it, but it is the fact that it plays in everyone's mind, 'Okay, if I don't get it right in a couple of Test matches, I may get dropped'. The insecurity always creeps in,” said Rohit.

“The first thing we wanted to do was to make sure that they're given the freedom and comfort to go and express themselves. We've seen the talent; there is no hiding from that. It is just, for us, about to make sure we lay a nice red carpet for them to go out and perform,” said Rohit further.

There was significant inexperience when it came to the Indian batting order; barring Rohit, India largely had youngsters in the rest of the spots in the XI. While Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill made the top 3, the no.4 saw Rajat Patidar and Devdutt Padikkal following the injury to KL Rahul.

With Shreyas Iyer being dropped after the second Test, Sarfaraz Khan made his debut and performed brilliantly at no.5, while wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel also made his maiden appearance in the third Test, sealing the spot for the rest of the series.