India future already looking bright as new generation step up to fill Kohli and Sharma void

LEEDS, England - The retirement of two Indian batting icons in less than a year piled the pressure on the next generation to step up, and new skipper Shubman Gill and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal look ready to fill the void left by Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

Losing the India bowler with the second-most test wickets in Ravichandran Ashwin as well as former captains Kohli and Rohit in quick succession left India facing a daunting task during their tour of England.

With England missing several frontline bowlers through injury for the series opener at Headingley, India were keen to make their mark.

Jaiswal and Gill proved that there is still plenty of depth left in the Indian batting line-up, with both scoring centuries on Friday as the visitors piled on the runs to end day one of the first test on 359-3.

The next 10 tests could define how the combination of skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum are viewed, after plenty of highs and lows over the past few years, with the Ashes series in Australia following Indias visit.

Putting India into bat to apply further pressure, at a ground where each of the previous six test matches have been won by the side bowling first, 23-year-old Jaiswal proved that the tourists had quickly transitioned from the old to the new.

The scourge of England, however, was not overawed by any stretch, as he became the first Indian batter to score centuries in his first match in both Australia and England with a flawless display of off-side batting.

Three of Jaiswals five centuries have come against England. In total, he has now amassed a colossal 813 runs in 10 tests when facing McCullums side.

We spoke a lot in the middle (with Gill) and we just made sure