As India’s talisman batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli step down from the shorter format of the international game and near the final phase of their careers in general, a dire need for reinvention and transition awaits India. And one man who knows it all too well is none other than outgoing Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour.
Following India’s triumphant campaign at the 2024 T20 World Cup, both Rohit and Kohli promptly announced that they would be stepping away from the international circuit in the shorter format of the game for India.
What follows the same is change, and the gruelling nature of transition, in the eyes of Rathour, was already at display as India took on Zimbabwe in their five-match T20I series that had concluded yesterday.
“It is never going to be easy to replace people of Rohit and Virat’s calibre,” Rathour told PTI in an exclusive interview.
“The recently-concluded series against Zimbabwe gave us some glimpse into how the T20 team will look like in future. But we still have a few years in Test and ODI cricket to get to that point,” said the acclaimed batting coach.
Luckily for the Men in Blue, one problem that does not exist is the lack of talent.
A former national selector himself, Rathour voiced out his unshaken belief in the newer generation of batting talent that have risen up to help the national team reinvent themselves.
“I won’t be too concerned about it. We have a lot of depth in Indian cricket. There are lots of very talented and skilful players who are coming through the system. The only thing we need to make sure is the transition is done in a controlled manner. It needs to be gradual.
He also reinstated his faith in the likes of rising superstar talents such as Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and other batters to help aide the national side in a smooth and worry-free transition.
“I am hoping that by then, players like Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel to name a few, would establish themselves and will make the transition smooth.
“In ODIs also, we have experienced players like Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya to take over,” Rathour said in a confident analysis.
Rathour’s faith in the likes of both Gill and Jasiwal especially stands tall, as the coach believes that the duo will infact come together to form the nucleus of the Indian batting order as time passes.
“There are many exciting players coming through but these two are equipped to play all three formats for a long time. They are going to be the backbone of Indian batting in years to come,” the former Punjab skipper said.
Comments
0 comment