With the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) done and dusted, the focus has shifted to the upcoming India tour of Australia which starts from November 27. The Men in Blues play three ODIs followed by the same number of T20Is. The tour will culminate with a four-match Test series as a part of the ICC World Test Championship.
Meanwhile, the million-dollar question of Indian team management is who will replace Virat Kohli for the last three Tests. Incidentally, Team India skipper will return to India midway to the tour as he and his wife Anushka Sharma are expecting the birth of their first child. Kohli sought paternity leave which was approved by the BCCI and thus; will not feature in the last three games of the tour which will cost the Australian broadcasters in millions.
In this article, we will try to look at 5 options who can replace Virat Kohli at No.4 in the last three matches against Australia:
Hanuma Vihari
New into the Indian side, Hanuma Vihari has already claimed a stake in the Indian Test side with his gritty and determined batting. He was a pivotal member of the squad which won the Test series against Australia in 2018-19 – first-ever in history.
He accumulated 111 runs in the three matches he featured; however, his 60-ball stay opening the innings against a top-class attack was the highlight of his strong determination. Vihari has gone strength from strength and also scored a fighting half-century in Hagley Oval against New Zealand earlier this year.
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The batsman from Hyderabad will be the best option to replace Virat Kohli at No.4 considering he has the mentality to bat for long hours and score big runs. He along with Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane will make a formidable middle-order.
KL Rahul
The talented batsman from Karnataka; KL Rahul is making a comeback in Test side and will be aiming to cement his berth. He is coming from a heavy run-scoring spree in the IPL and the selectors backed him to continue his rich vein of form in the longest format of the game.
Although his selection garnered a lot of reactions from certain former players including Sanjay Manjrekar; but BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has backed Rahul to do well in Test cricket. Although he has a paltry average of around 34 in Tests; KL Rahul is a much better batsman and can dominate any attack on any given day.
While it must be noted that he has not batted at No.4 ever in Test cricket, Rahul will be keen to accept this daunting task and deliver the goods for his side and silence all his critics.
Rohit Sharma
The swashbuckling batsman was left out of all the squads for the tour of Australia amid his injury mystery which was the most highlighted topic of discussion leading to the tour. However, he was later drafted into the Test squad after Virat Kohli was granted a paternity leave and will miss the last three Tests against the Aussies.
Rohit Sharma can be a perfect replacement for Virat Kohli; although he is yet to showcase his run-scoring spree in alien conditions in red-ball cricket. All his centuries have come at home including two tons and a double hundred in the last domestic season against South Africa. He was a part of the Test series against New Zealand; however, missed it owing to injury.
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Rohit will have a point to prove and the management might be tempted to slot him in the middle-order pushing Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw to open the innings.
Rishabh Pant
The talented youngster from Delhi Rishabh Pant has had a woeful 2020 so far. He has lost his India berth in the limited-overs to KL Rahul owing to inconsistent show with the bat. Many expected Pant to fire in the recently concluded IPL which has been his run-breeding ground, but the wicket-keeper batsman failed miserably.
The upcoming Test series against Australia will be the last lifeline to safeguard his place in the Indian team and Rishabh Pant will be desperate to put his best feet forward. It is likely that he will get a nod ahead of Wriddhiman Saha, considering that the management has favoured Pant in overseas condition due to his batting abilities.
He can be a force to reckon with at the No.4 position in the absence of Virat Kohli as Pant has the potential to dismantle any bowling attack across the globe with his attacking style of play. He smacked a brilliant century last time when India toured Australia in 2018-19 and Pant will be eyeing to replicate his performance.
Shubman Gill
The young batting prodigy from Bathinda, Shubman Gill is touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket. Relatively new to international cricket, Gill has already shown that he is here to stay. His numbers in international cricket where he only managed 16 runs from two ODIs is not a true reflection of his talent.
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The top-order batsman has played 21 first-class matches, where he has aggregated 2,133 runs at an average of 73.55. His highest score of 268 shows that he has the capability to play a marathon knock in the longest format of the game. Best suited to bat in the middle-order, Gill can be a perfect replacement for Virat Kohli at No.4.
He had a decent run for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL and will hope to keep up the good run against the top-ranked Australian side.