Last Updated on 5 years by Charbel Coorey

‘Virat and Rohit are the ones!’, exclaimed Sachin when asked as to who he thinks could break his batting records in the future. It was way back in March 2012 when Kohli had 11 ODI hundreds while the Mumbai lad had crossed the century milestone just twice.

This remark had drawn a round of applause from the audience but no one earnestly believed these claims to be prophetic. In the eight years since then, the Indian captain and vice-captain have redefined how the game of cricket is played, especially in the ODI format.

Virat burst onto the scene after he led India to U19 World Cup glory in 2008. He made his debut for the senior team in the same year, but was in and out due to his lackluster performances.

Then came the decisive period in Kohli’s career. On Christmas eve in 2009, India was chasing 317 against Sri Lanka with both Sachin and Sehwag back in the hut. Virat stitched a solid 224-run stand with Gambhir to win India the game. He scored his first ODI hundred and also showed glimpses of his exceptional chasing abilities. Remember, the 2011 WC was just a year away with India and MS Dhoni finalizing the team that would take a shot at lifting the title.

It was purely serendipitous that one of Sachin, Sehwag, and Gambhir was always injured or rested during the last 12 months before the mega event. This allowed Kohli to play almost all matches in the lead-up, and soon he became the permanent number four for India before the tournament. India went on to win the World Cup, with Virat scoring a century and playing 2-3 crucial innings, including his 35 in the Final, which came at a time when India was under immense pressure chasing 275.

Within a couple of years after that, he played several gems and single-handedly won India games. His scores of 133 off 86 against Sri Lanka in the CB series, 183 off 148 against Pakistan in the Asia Cup, and 100 off 52 against Australia in a bilateral series, all came when India was chasing targets well beyond 300. He proved himself as not just a good batsman, but someone who knew how to control a chase and finish games for India. There’s been no looking back for Virat since then. Barring England in 2014 and Australia in 2017, it’s hard to remember any series in the last 10 years where Kohli has not scored runs.

Rohit, on the other hand, is undoubtedly one of the best openers this game has ever seen. It’s difficult to imagine how Rohit’s career would have transpired had Dhoni not asked him to open on the eve of India’s Champions Trophy opener in Cardiff in 2013.

India went on to win the tournament with Rohit scoring a decent 177 runs at an average of 35.40, including two fifties to his name. He didn’t perform exceptionally, but certainly proved that he with Shikhar could be one of the most potent opening pairs for India.

The turning point came when Australia toured India later that year. Rohit was given a continued run as opener after his good performances in CT’13. This time, he made the most of it. He scored two hundreds and a fifty, including a double century, and ended up as the highest scorer in the series with 491 runs in five matches.

Rohit stamped his authority as India’s opener and has never let anyone get a sniff of an opportunity at that position since then. The ‘hitman’ has scored 9,115 runs at an average of 49.30, including 29 centuries to his name, 4th after Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, and Ricky Ponting.

Rohit just turned 33, while Virat has hinted multiple times that he would consider dropping one of the formats after the 2023 WC. It won’t be inappropriate to admit that both of them have entered the final stages of their careers.

It’s highly probable that Rohit would never get a chance to captain India in either of the formats as his career is likely to come at a close before or with Kohli.

Virat and Rohit have been the biggest match-winners for India in the last 10 years. The question now arises as to who in the young generation can replace the two modern-day greats in terms of their batting prowess as well as undertaking the leadership responsibilities.

A look below at the players who can soak up the pressure of handling the most high profile job in Indian sport.

Shreyas Iyer

Iyer is tailor-made for leading India’s ODI team post the 2023 WC. He is calm, cool-headed, follows pretty much Dhoni’s style of captaincy, and provides the much-needed stability to the Indian middle order. Though it’s still early days, Shreyas is someone who doesn’t easily buckle under pressure and has Kohli’s level of temperament when it comes to chases.

Glimpses of that were seen in the third ODI of India’s 2020 series against Australia at Bangalore. With India requiring 81 of 80 balls and Rohit walking back in the hut, the pressure was on India with the likes of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins steaming in. Australia peppered Shreyas with some short and nasty stuff expecting him to grovel. Iyer launched a counter-attack by making room and smashing those short deliveries, driving and cutting the ball to all parts on the off-side. He finished with a 35-ball 44 with the hosts cantering to a comfortable win.

In the not-so-long stint he has had with the Indian side, Shreyas has scored a century and eight fifties with an average of 49.87 in the 16 innings he has played. Images of India’s heartbreak at Manchester in the WC semifinal would haunt the team and the fans for a long time. It could have been avoided had Shreyas been given a longer rope as India’s number four when he was drafted in the side for the first time in 2017. India has learned its lessons with Virat mentioning in a recent press conference that the “team had paid a heavy price earlier” by meddling too much with the middle order.

The test of Iyer’s captaincy has been leading the Delhi Capitals in the IPL and he has passed with flying colors. In the 24 games he’s captained, DD has gone on to win 13 of those. Leading the side for the entire season in 2019, he led Delhi to quality for the playoffs for the first time in seven years. Assuming Iyer continues to perform the way he has for the next three years, he would have played close to 100 ODIs by then. With a perfect mix of experience and flamboyance, Iyer would be the most suitable candidate to take over the captaincy role.

KL Rahul

Another candidate perfectly fit to handle the core of India’s batting and leading the side in the future is KL Rahul. From being dismissed playing a horrendous shot in his Test debut against Australia on Boxing Day to scoring two T-20 hundreds, to being suspended by the BCCI due to a controversy on the show ‘Koffee with Karan’, KL Rahul has seen it all.

Rahul’s career has been a rollercoaster ride, but finally he is doing justice to his much proclaimed talent. His match-winning performances recently have proved why he has been backed by MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli throughout his career.

KL has scored four centuries and seven fifties, holding an average of 47.85 in 31 innings in the ODI format. His stats paint an even better picture when it comes to T-20s. He has been a prolific opener in the shortest format and has scored at a staggering average of 45.66. In all probability, the Karnataka lad has replaced Shikhar Dhawan as the opener in T-20s as he has the capability of playing his shots and providing the much-needed impetus at the top.

Rahul has delivered at all possible batting positions, be it opening the innings, providing the stability in the middle, or finishing the innings coming lower down the order. His best performance came in the 2nd ODI against Australia in Rajkot.

India were 0-1 down and had to win to stay in the series. Batting first, India were going smoothly with the ever-dependable Indian top-order scoring runs until Virat was dismissed when the score read 276-4 in the 44th over. India needed someone to provide the acceleration in the death overs, Rahul came out and scored a blistering 80 off 52 balls to take India to 340 in 50 overs. He proved to be the difference in the end, with Australia finishing with 304. India went on to win the next ODI as well, but Rahul’s innings was the turning point to tilt the series in India’s favor.

KL has also taken over the wicket-keeping responsibilities, providing the much-needed balance to the ODI and T-20 setup. He gives India the option of playing a proper batsman like Manish Pandey at number 6 with Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja to follow at number 7 and 8.

Recently, Rahul has been named captain for his IPL franchise and would be leading KXIP in the upcoming season. How he performs as a captain is yet to be seen, but he is the most experienced member in the side after Kohli and Rohit and is someone who should be looked upon by the selectors as an important cog in the wheel of India’s leadership group in the future.

Written by Parth Gera. Follow Parth on Twitter today.

Also read:

• Why India must no longer pick Shikhar Dhawan ahead of KL Rahul in T20Is
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