Top 3 Contenders To Replace Virat Kohli in the T20Is

While millions of hardcore cricket fans were celebrating a thrilling Indian victory over South Africa at the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup that ended a seventeen-year-long drought for the Indian cricket team, Virat Kohli along with the captain of the Indian cricket team, Rohit Sharma, announced his retirement from the T20I format and called it a perfect “conclusion”. Kohli announced his “open secret” of retirement while giving the winning speech for clinching the “Player of the Match” award in the 2024 ICC T20 Men’s World Cup Final against South Africa at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. The legendary Indian batsman delivered a match-winning 76* runs off 59 deliveries in an innings that majorly paved India’s way toward the much-awaited victory. 

“Well, it was my last T20 game playing for India, and we really wanted to lift the World Cup. This retirement was an open secret. Not something that I wasn’t going to announce even if we had lost. I think it’s time for the next generation to take the T20 format forward. It’s been a long wait of seventeen years for us, waiting to win an ICC tournament. Now that we’ve achieved it, it feels overwhelming. I couldn’t have asked for a better final T20 match for my career”, Kohli expressed his gratitude after winning the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup. 

While the run machine of Kohli has decided to call it quits with his final T20I match against South Africa, he undoubtedly leaves behind a plethora of memories and a haunting void in the Indian cricket team that might take years to replenish. Kohli’s early retirement from the Indian cricket team for the T20I format left the entire nation with mixed emotions about commemorating the World Cup victory and watching a legendary batsman bid adieu to the world’s most intense and action-packed cricket format. 

Top three batsmen from the Indian cricket team who might replace Virat Kohli in T20I

• Sanju Samson

Sanju Vishwanath Samson, popularly referred to as “Sanju”, is often hailed as one of the finest batsmen of the younger generation who might be a perfect pick as Kohli’s replacement owing to his stellar achievements and records in the past few years. Sanju Samson smashed a half century against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2013 season and established himself as the youngest cricketer so far to achieve the formidable feat. In addition to being a consistent performer in the Indian Premier League (IPL) format, Sanju Samson also holds the record for being the highest scoring wicketkeeper -batsman with the maximum number of centuries in the most coveted Ranji Trophy tournament. Moreover, Sanju Samson has earlier been a part of numerous high-pressure international cricket tournaments, including the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup. Therefore, it’s fair to believe that Sanju Samson is already used to performing well and driving the Indian cricket team to victory even in the most bizarre circumstances on the field. Provided below is an anecdote of Sanju Samson’s innings across all formats that makes him an ideal pick after Kohli’s departure from the Indian T20I scene: 

Sanju Samson’s Fielding and Batting Statistics 

Format	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100s	50s	4s	6s	Ct	St
ODIs	16	14	5	510	108	56.66	512	99.60	1	3	34	22	9	2
T20Is	25	22	2	374	77	18.70	281	133.09	0	1	31	15	14	4
FC	62	102	8	3623	211	38.54	6177	58.65	10	16	420	83	89	7
List A	128	119	16	3487	212*	33.85	3865	90.21	3	19	293	109	125	15
T20s	273	261	31	6721	119	29.22	4990	134.68	3	45	549	298	135	30

• KL Rahul

Although KL Rahul has been majorly overlooked by the selectors of the Indian cricket team since the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, it is highly anticipated by critics and cricket aficionados that Kannur Lokesh Rahul might make a roaring comeback after the departure of legendary batsman Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. With adequate experience in high-stakes international tournaments, including the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, KL Rahul is currently being perceived as one of the most experienced and reliable batsmen in the top order after the sudden departure of Kohli and Hitman. KL Rahul’s stellar 110* runs off 51 deliveries against West Indies during the T20I 2016 series still serve as a constant reminder of his path-breaking potential when it comes to performing under high-pressure situations on the field. Additionally, during the second T20I in 2018 against Ireland, KL Rahul smashed a powerful opening-innings of 70* runs off 36 balls alongside Virat Kohli. Although the selectors have kept KL Rahul off their radar for a couple of years, it will be fascinating to witness if he gets to make a comeback as “Kohli’s replacement” in the Indian cricket team in the T20I format. An anecdote of KL Rahul’s phenomenal career statistics is provided below: 

KL Rahul’s Batting & Fielding Statistics:

Format	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100s	50s	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	50	86	2	2863	199	34.08	5481	52.23	8	14	345	24	62	0
ODIs	75	70	14	2820	112	50.35	3211	87.82	7	18	224	61	62	5
T20Is	72	68	8	2265	110*	37.75	1628	139.12	2	22	191	99	23	1
FC	93	158	5	6760	337	44.18	12427	54.39	18	32	845	57	102	0
List A	127	122	19	4830	131	46.89	5905	81.79	11	31	393	92	100	9
T20s	226	213	32	7586	132	41.91	5584	135.85	6	65	643	311	112

• Shubhman Gill

With a highly impressive strike rate of 174.5 in a total of fourteen matches that he has played till now, Shubhman Gill has already created a safe spot for himself in the T20 Internationals format. The IPL stalwart, Shubhman Gill registered his maiden T20I century against New Zealand in 2023, assisting India in building a formidable total of 234* runs at the loss of four wickets in 20 overs. Shubhman Gill was greatly appreciated by the legendary cricketers, including Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag for his outstanding innings against New Zealand, which also served as a testament of his highly promising potential to play as an opening batsman or top-order batsman for the Indian cricket team across the international formats. Keeping in mind Shubhman Gill’s last few performances and his breathtaking records in the domestic as well as international cricket circuits, selectors might pick him as a replacement for Virat Kohli. An anecdote of Shubhman Gill’s phenomenal career statistics is provided below: 

Shubhman Gill’s Batting & Fielding Statistics:

Format	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100s	50s	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	25	46	4	1492	128	35.52	2513	59.37	4	6	170	24	21	0
ODIs	44	44	7	2271	208	61.37	2195	103.46	6	13	254	52	30	0
T20Is	14	14	1	335	126*	25.76	227	147.57	1	1	31	16	3	0
FC	52	90	9	4034	268	49.80	5947	67.83	12	18	477	58	38	0
List A	99	98	13	4535	208	53.35	4746	95.55	12	24	483	93	56	0
T20s	138	135	19	4228	129	36.44	3082	137.18	6	24	409	137	45	0