Virat Kohli
Veteran cricketer Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket on 12 May. With this, there was a period of speculation about his future in Test cricket that has been going on for the last several days. Kohli will now be seen in just 50 overs format. Kohli, 36, said goodbye to T20 International cricket last year. Virat Kohli, while announcing his retirement on his Instagram page, wrote- When he is moving away from this format of the game, it is not easy. But it seems right. They have given it everything and gave them more than expectations.
Virat played 123 Test matches for India, in which he scored 9230 runs with the help of 30 centuries at an average of 46.85. He played his last Test match for India in January 2025 in Sydney on a tour of Australia. Kohli’s retirement has come before the tour of England. In such a situation, the biggest question has arisen in front of Team India as to who will play Kohli’s position in the Test i.e. number-4. Let’s know about those players who can now replace Virat Kohli in Test cricket.
Shreyas Iyer
Virat scored 7564 runs at an average of more than 50, batting at number 4 in 98 Tests out of 123 Tests. After Kohli leaving Test cricket, it will not be easy for any batsman to fill this place. There are some players in the eyes of team management, who can contribute significantly to number-4. One of these names is Shreyas Iyer. Shreyas Iyer has been in amazing form in ODI cricket for the past few months. He has also performed brilliantly in the Test. Iyer made her debut in the Kanpur Test against New Zealand in November 2021. He did wonders by scoring a century and a half -century in his debut test. Since then, Iyer has played 14 Test matches and scored 811 runs in 24 innings at an average of 36.86. This includes a century five half -centuries. Iyer has so far batted at number-5 and 6 in Tests, but he looks comfortable playing on every position. This is the reason why he can handle the chair of number-4 vacant after Kohli.
Shubman Gill
The Indian team already has two technically strong batsmen as Shubman Gill and KL Rahul, who can bat on number-4 after Virat Kohli retired. Last year, Rahul, who is opening with Yashasvi Jaiswal in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year, can also play at number three, from which Gill can play an important role of number four above one rung. Gill has so far batted between number-1 to number-3 in the Test, but he will not back down from accepting the challenge of number-4 when he gets the team’s command. In this situation, Sai Sudarshan can be given a chance with Yashasvi Jaiswal in the opening.
Sarfaraz Khan
Sarfaraz Khan can also handle Virat Kohli’s throne. Sarfaraz, who scored a score in domestic cricket, made his Test debut in Rajkot against England in February last year and won everyone’s heart by scoring a half -century in both innings. Sarfaraz has played 6 Test matches so far, in which he has got a chance to play only once on number-4. However, he played the best innings of his career, cashing on the occasion in a spectacular manner. He scored 150 runs in the second innings of the Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru.
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