India, June 29 -- It's certainly not a good time for those seasoned players who formed the nucleus of the India side since Sachin Tendulkar retired in 2013.

In the current transitional phase, the senior pros one by one have walked into the sunset, Virat Kohli following Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin into retirement while Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have been out of favour for more than two seasons. When India last played in England, 2021, they were all in the playing XI, including Mohammed Shami, who is now battling fitness issues.

From among those who made their Test debut before 2015, only a couple remain - Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul. Rahul, 33, is going strong but the scrutiny is on Jadeja, 36, who made his debut in 2012.

With...