Virat Kohli, a player who changed the face of Indian Cricket Team. Kumar Sangakkara was the last batter to complete 10,000 runs in both ODIs and Tests. A golden opportunity that Kohli narrowly missed to join the elite list after announcing his retirement from test cricket on Monday, 12th May 2025. No one had expected him to take retirement just after Rohit Sharma. Virat Kohli is the main character of the Indian cricket. According to some media reports, he was forced to take retirement from Test Cricket by BCCI. Whatever the rumours are being spread but you can’t deny one fact that we are from an era that saw some of very fine ambassadors of test cricket and one of them was Virat Kohli. The former Indian Captain Virat Kohli took a silent retirement via a post on his Instagram handle.
It’s sad to say goodbye to a player who has been an icon of Indian Cricket Team, and he kept making India proud with his incredible performance. No other player in cricket history has gained so much popularity as Virat Kohli did. Who do you think will fill King Kohli’s boots in Indian test team?
Here is the top 5 player who can replace Virat Kohli in future:
Sai Sudharshan:
We have all seen how brilliantly Sai Sudharshan has performed in IPL 2025 season. He has been a key player for Gujarat Titans. In last 11 matches, Sai has scored an incredible 509 runs in 11 matches with a high score of 82 runs in 53 balls, making him the 2nd most run maker in IPL 2025 so far.
Gujarat Titans are leading the points table as they are the current table toppers, and they have 3 more group matches to play before the playoffs. Sai Sudharshan’s incredible success has given Gujarat Titans a great chance to win the IPL trophy.
Sai has played total 36 matches in IPL since 2022 with 1543 runs and AVG 46.46, SR: 143.53, The Youngster has all the potential to become a Star Player of the Indian Cricket team.
In First Class cricket, he has played 29 matches in which batted in 49 innings making 1957 runs with an average of 39.93 and in List A matches, He has played 28 matches making 1396 runs with an average of 60.69 and a Strike Rate of 95.61. In T20s, he has played of 56 matches scoring 2021 runs with the average of 41.24 and SR 135.54.
He has everything that takes to replace Virat Kohli in Indian Test Team. Not only in Test, but in ODIs and T20s, he has the capability to be as consistent across formats.
Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer has proved his mettle in IPL 2025, both with the bat and as a captain.
The upcoming England tour will bring a golden chance for Shreyas Iyer to justify his place in the Test squad. Through his consistent performances, he has regained the selectors’ trust. He has changed himself from an unrecognized player toone of the key player for Indian Cricket Team.
Even though he has played only 14 Tests, hitting 811 runs, his domestic record speaks more than what the world has seen yet. He scored 480 runs in five matches at an impressive average of 68.57, with a strike rate of 90.22 in his last Ranji Trophy season with Mumbai.
Certainly, He has got what it takes to succeed at Number four for India at Test Level
Karun Nair
Karun Nair played a total 10 seasons of IPL since 2014, and he has an impressive performance in international cricket. He has played a total 6 test match with the average of 62.33 and SR 73.91.
His highest was 303* off 381 balls against England tour of India. Nair has also shown his incredible performance in T20 for Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2025. He was part of 114 matches in which he played 183 innings making 5211 runs with the average of 49.16 and SR 52.39 in First Class Test matches
In List A ODI matches, he was part of 107 matches in which he played 97 innings making 3128 runs with the average of 41.15 and SR 89.24. In Domestic T20s, he was part of 170 matches in which he played 155 innings making 3616 runs with the average of 26.20 and SR 136.24.
Looking at his performance, he looks a strong dominant player who can replace Virat Kohli in Indian Cricket
Nitish Kumar Reddy
Nitish Kumar Reddy’s performances on India A tours, with a fabulous century in Australia, shows how well he can play and adapt in challenging conditions.
His class against pace make him fit for a middle order in test cricket. He played in a 5 test matches with 298 runs against Australia with the average of 37.25 and SR 64.22.
He has also been really expectational in demotic Cricket. In First Class (FC), Nitish has played a total 28 matches and 48 innings with the average of 23.93 and SR 56.80. In List A, he was part of 22 matches and played only 15 innings making 403 runs with the average of 36.63 and SR 95.27.
He has also been exceptionally brilliant in domestic T20 league with being a part of 34 matches and played 27 innings making 658 runs with the average of 29.90 and SR 131.07, making him the best competitor in the list to replace Virat Kohli in Indian Cricket
Sarfaraz Khan
Sarfaraz Khan has been great with red ball showcased in Ranji Trophy which gave him the chance to play in Grade A against New Zealand and proved himself by scoring his first International test century.
He has been a part of 6 test matches in which he has played 11 innings, making 370 runs with the average of 37.10 and SR 74.94.
He also proved himself in domestic matches showing his brilliance in all formats. In FC cricket, he has been a part of 54 matches in which he played total 82 innings making 4593 runs with the average of 65.61 and SR 70.73. In List A, he has been a part for 37 matches in which he played 27 innings making 629 runs with the average of 34.94 and SR 94.16. Sarfaraz has been a part of 96 T20 matches in which he played 74 innings making 1188 runs with the average of 22.41 and SR 128.29.
He has shown his good performance, stability and consistency in all formats making him the powerful candidate for India’s Grade A playing XI.
