England Test skipper Ben Stokes on Wednesday (May 21) made it clear that they will not take India lightly despite the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from the traditional format of the game.

Rohit and Kohli recently called time on their Test career in the span of five days, leaving a big void in the Indian team ahead of the all-important England tour that marks the beginning of the new WTC cycle.

Despite their absence, Stokes was still wary of the threat posed by the Indian batters. India are likely to announce their squad and new Test captain on May 24.

Speaking to the ECB's official website, Stokes acknowledged that India have incredible depth when it comes to batters.

"We always look to get at the opposition during a Test and we look and see how we can adapt. They have had two big retirements in Rohit and Kohli, who have been such an important part of the Indian team and all the success that they have had. But India's battery of batters is just incredible."

"When I have spent time in the IPL, they have batters coming out of their, can't say that word on the interview, but you know what I mean. You can never take any Indian team lightly despite the fact that they're without two of their greatest batters," said Stokes.

The English captain further stated that India are a very good side wherever they travel in the world. For now, however, they are focusing on the one-off Test against Zimbabwe, slated to start on May 22 in Nottingham.

"India are a very good team wherever they go in the world. We will be focused on the Zimbabwe game now, but as we get closer and closer to the India series, our focus will shift to them. It will be a long tough summer. We know what we have got," said Stokes.

The five-Test series between India and England is slated to get underway on June 20 at Headingley, followed by matches at Lord's (June 28), Trent Bridge (July 6), The Oval (July 14), and Old Trafford (July 24).