Who will replace Virat Kohli as India’s captain?

Virat Kohli is a modern legend in the world cricket. The top-order Indian batsman has been phenomenon since his debut, especially in 2012 where he established as “chase master” when chasing tall and difficult totals.

The Indian captain has been averaging over 50 in all formats of cricket. As a captain, he does better, averaging over 55 in all formats in cricket. He is leading the world cricket at a moment, scoring centuries after centuries in an unimaginable scenes.

Virat Kohli, since taking over from MS Dhoni in all formats in 2017, has led India to final of ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and semi final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. He led India to a historical series win in Australia in 2018, where no Asian team has ever won before. He led India to the top of ICC Test rankings and ICC ODI rankings as well.

However, there will be a time where the current Indian captain will step down from captaincy. By that time when he will step down, first choice captains such as Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane may have brought down curtains in their careers. Even the premier Test spinner Ravichandran Ashwin may also have retired by then.

So who will be the new and long term captain for India in all formats of the game? Will India have separate captains for separate formats? For now, we will be looking at top three rising Indian stars who can be a long term leader for team India.

1. Prithvi Shaw

A right-handed opening batsman, Shaw made his first international appearance on 4 October 2018 and became the second-youngest Indian after Sachin Tendulkar to make a Test century and the youngest Indian to do so on Test debut. The International Cricket Council (ICC) named Shaw as one of the five breakout stars in men’s cricket in 2018.

Shaw was the captain of India’s squad for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, where he led India in the final to beat Australia by 8 wickets which resulted them to win their fourth Under-19 World Cup.

Shaw averages 50 and over in First Class and 40 in List A. With both runs and leadership skills combined, Shaw may be the possible captain for Indian in all formats in the future.

2. Priyam Garg

A highly talented top-order right-handed batsman, Priyam Garg showed a lot of promise with his batting. He averages 66.69 in First Class cricket and 47 in List A and has been regarded as one of the future batting stars for India.

He was named as the captain of India’s squad for the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, where he led his side to final. Unfortunately for him and India, they lost to Bangladesh U-19, who won their maiden Under 19 World Cup title.

3. Shubman Gill

A right-hand opening batsman, Shubman Gill was the vice-captain for India in the 2018 Under 19 World Cup. He scored 372 runs at an average of 124.00 at the tournament and was rewarded the player of the tournament. He scored a magnificent century against Pakistan in the semi-final of the tournament. He earned praises from former legends like team coach Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, and Sourav Ganguly.

Shubman averages 66 in First Class and 45 in List A. He already made his India debut, where he averages 50 in Test cricket. With so much cricket to offer, he may also leapfrog over Prithvi Shaw and Priyam Garg to become India’s next all formats captain.

Did we miss any? Who would you believe will become the next all formats captain for India in the future?

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