The King reigns supreme. Virat Kohli, no matter the age, has proven that he shall remain the pinnacle of batting in world cricket as long as he plays. But, what happens when the King steps down? Who shall take over?
Well, former Indian spinner Piyush Chawla had his say on the matter.
The veteran leggie Chawla, who still continues to find success in franchise cricket, put up a fairly successful season personally with the unsuccessful Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024, picking up 13 wickets in 11 matches, and ending his season as MI’s tied-second highest wicket taker.
As a 2011 World Cup winner as well, Chawla is no stranger to the greatness of Virat Kohli, playing with and against him in various formats, and was posed with the question of stating who could possibly replace the Indian great.
In conversation with Shubhankar Mishra on his YouTube channel, Chawla spoke out and named his pick for who he believes shall step up and fill the shoes of Kohli once he hangs his boots up for India across all formats.
“Shubman Gill. Because of the technique he possesses,” Chawla said bluntly without a second’s thought.
“You see, if a batter goes through a rough patch of form, it is usually his technique that comes into play and helps them get out of the rut. If you notice, any batter who has great technique will never undergo a bad run of form for too long.”
But, Chawla wasn’t done with picking just Gill. He, in fact, also snuck in yet another pick.
“So, for me, Shubman Gill is up there for sure, along with Ruturaj Gaikwad,” stated Chawla.
Gaikwad soon made his T20I and ODI debut for India as well carrying on from his IPL success. But, it has been murky waters for the CSK batter, as he has not found consistent opportunities to represent the Men in Blue across all formats, and remains plagues with injuries periodically.
As unfortunate as it may be, in the eyes of Chawla, that’s just how cricket works.
“See, that’s part of the game. It just comes with the package. And sometimes, it is unfortunate that when opportunities do arise, luck just does not follow the same,” Chawla reiterated.
“But regardless, for me, these two players shall take over the mantle after Virat Kohli.”
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