Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa has picked his candidate to replace Virat Kohli in the Indian cricket team. The two players who are vying to replace the legendary Virat Kohli are Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Virat Kohli retired from the T20I format after the conclusion of the 2024 T20 World Cup, which India emerged victorious in. Following his retirement, there has been speculation about which batsman will replace him in India’s playing XI in T20Is.
Both Gill and Gaikwad are very talented batsmen and picking one of them is a difficult task. Uthappa also found it difficult to pick one of these two batsmen and argued why both of them cannot be in the same playing XI.
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Robin Uthappa picks Virat Kohli’s perfect replacement in T20I
In an interview with Sony Sports Network, Uthappa spoke about both players and their strengths and weaknesses. The former Indian cricketers acknowledged that Gaikwad has been more consistent, but also felt that Gill brings versatility to India in terms of touch and power.
“Why can’t we have both of them, because they are good players? Their numbers speak for themselves, both have phenomenal numbers in T20 cricket. You can’t choose between the two.”
“If you look at consistency, you will see that Ruturaj (Gaikwad) is a bit more consistent as far as numbers are concerned. But Shubman Gill gives you the versatility of having touch and power as well,” Uthappa said.
Uthappa further argued why India cannot play with both of them as both are talented players and can play all formats.
“It’s difficult to choose between the two, ideally both should play and what I’m asking is why India shouldn’t have both of them playing because both are all-round players,” the former India wicketkeeper added.
Russel Arnold chooses Shubman Gill instead of Ruturaj Gaikwad
Meanwhile, former Sri Lankan spinner Russel Arnold picked Shubman Gill over Ruturaj Gaikwad for his ability to change direction at any time. Arnold, who was in the same situation, believes Gill is different from other Indian players and can contribute more to the Indian team.
“I will pick Shubman Gill because I feel he has a lot of solidity. The players around him are talented and he can change the pace whenever he wants. He is a different type of player to the rest of the Indian players, he is not a power cricketer but he will perform in different areas,” Arnold said.
Recently, both Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad were part of India’s squad for the tour of Zimbabwe. While Gill scored 170 runs in five matches at an average of 42.50 and became the leading run-scorer in the series, Gaikwad also impressed by scoring 133 runs in four matches at an average of 66.50.
In T20Is, Gill has scored 539 runs in 20 matches at an average of 29.94 and a strike rate of 142.59. He was recently appointed as India’s vice-captain for T20Is and ODIs. On the other hand, Gaikwad has scored 633 runs in 23 matches at an average of 39.56 and a strike rate of 143.53.
