Virat Kohli made his ODI debut in 2008, T20I debut in 2010, and Test debut in 2011. At the fag end of Sachin Tendulkar’s career, Virat Kohli emerged as a potential successor to the master.
Over the coming years, the Delhi-born established himself as Tendulkar’s true heir and carried on the legacy of Indian batting.
Such was his the consistency of his exploits across formats that the ICC named him the Player Of The Decade in 2020. It came as a no surprise because Virat Kohli had dominated the run-scoring charts for a decade. After a slight dip in numbers in 2021-22, Virat Kohli is back to his best in the past few months having notched up centuries in all three formats.
As Virat Kohli now is in the last phase of his career, India are searching for the next Virat Kohli, the successor to the 34-year-old. A few youngsters have emerged who have promised of carrying on the torch of KING Kohli.
Here are 3 Indian young batters who could be the next Virat Kohli:
Shubman Gill
Like it was Kohli at the start of the previous decade, now, 23-year-old Shubman Gill is touted to rule the coming decade. The Punjab-born batsman has already started his career with a bang and has enthralled everyone on the ride so far.
Shubman Gill has hit 7 international centuries already, across formats, and was the Orange Cap winner in the IPL 2023 with 890 runs including 3 hundreds.
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Yashasvi Jaiswal had a breakthrough IPL season this year as the Rajasthan Royals youngster astounded everyone with his aggressive strokeplay. The 21-year-old left-hander clattered 625 rusn at a strike rate of 163 with 5 fifties and a century. His powerplay strike rate of 175 was amongst the best in the tournament.
Jaiswal also has a terrific first-class record – average of 80 in 15 matches with 9 centuries – on the back of which he’s been selected as standby in India’s squad for the WTC Final. Jaiswal is another youngster who is showing signs of a great career at the highest level.
Ruturaj Gaikwad
Ruturaj Gaikwad has had an exceptional IPL career so far for CSK: in 51 knocks, he averages 39 at a strike rate of 135 and has compiled 15 fifties and 1 century. Winner of the Orange Cap in IPL 2021, Gaikwad has played a big role in CSK’s title wins in 2021 and 2023.
Gaikwad has played 9 T20Is and 1 ODI, but has failed to grab his chances. Nonetheless, the 26-year-old has got the right technique to make hay in the coming years for India and could follow the path of Virat Kohli into dominance in world cricket.
