In awe of India’s youth, Sanjay Manjrekar said, “Take the Baton from Virat Kohli.”

In the just finished five-match Test series, India defeated England 4-1 to regain the top spot in the ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings. With a 68.52 point percentage, they are also ranked top in the ICC World Test Championship points standings. Rohit Sharma turned things around and helped the relatively inexperienced Indian side win the following four Tests after losing the first Test in Hyderabad by a margin of 28 runs.

India’s 106-run victory against England in the second Test in Vizag set the stage for their eventual collapse, as each Test was won with increasing ease. Even without important players like Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul, India’s future generation proved they belonged at the top of the game.

Following the famous Sunil Gavaskar, Yashasvi Jaiswal became the first batter from India in history to score more than 700 runs in a Test series. Shubman Gill scored two centuries in the Tests, reliving his finest self.

One of the five series debutants, Sarfaraz Khan, has become something of a cult figure in the squad with three fifties in five innings, while India seem to have discovered an absurdly gifted wicketkeeper-batter in Dhruv Jurel. In the last test, Devdutt Padikkal made his debut and, similar to Sarfaraz and Jurel, did not lose any time showcasing his skills. In the fourth Test, Akash Deep bowled a scorching opening performance in Ranchi.

Sanjay Manjrekar and former England fast bowler Steve Harmison discussed their observations and key learnings from the five-match Test series between India and England in an interview with ESPNcricinfo. Manjrekar expressed special appreciation for Kuldeep Yadav, the left-arm wrist spinner who faced more balls than Jonny Bairstow, and who also had a breakthrough series with the bat. Yadav’s diabolical spin magic confounded the Bazballers.

When examining Indian cricket from a long-term perspective, I believe that bowling is the biggest takeaway. the appearance of Akash Deep and Kuldeep Yadav in the last Test match. There’s just no escape for a team that has been struggling with consistent form, according to Sanjay Manjrekar, “especially when you look at the England batting failure and relentless pressure, with five bowlers like [Jasprit] Bumrah, Akash Deep in the last Test, [Mohammed] Siraj here, and then three spinners, where Kuldeep Yadav has made such rapid strides.”

Sanjay Manjrekar, meanwhile, also thought it was too soon to evaluate these players only based on their home results.

“These batters, who have demonstrated the ability to score significant runs in Test matches, are eager to participate in Test matches, which is encouraging,” I said. Dhruv Jurel, who is also Sarfaraz’s partner, has a strong foundation, making him an attractive candidate. But let’s hold off a little longer. We’ll see who India’s long-term hitters are who will take over for players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Cheteshwar Pujara after these guys play in Australia, England, and other countries,” he continued.