After the recent T20 success in the United States and West Indies, the future of Indian cricket is certainly looking brighter. The first international success since the ICC Champions Trophy triumph in 2013 has given India the perfect springboard to add more trophies in other formats of the game to their collection. However, after the sudden announcements that legendary batsman, Virat Kohli, winning captain, Rohit Sharma, and all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja are to retire from T20 internationals, there might be an element of doubt in a few Indian fans’ minds as to where their team will go from now.
Talent out, Talent in
Despite the retirements of the trio, there is plenty of reason to believe that Indian cricket will continue to thrive in the shortest international format of the game. With T20 cricket continuing its’ quest for world domination, entering an increasing number of markets around the world, there are also plenty of stages for Indian T20 cricketers to showcase their skills. Kohli and Sharma amassed a combined 8419 runs between them in the T20 format, runs that will certainly be hard to replace, but there are Indian batsmen around the world that are staking their claims for a place in the T20 side.
Ruturaj Gaikwad
The captain of the Chennai Super Kings was a shining light in the Maharastra Premier League for Puneri Bappa. Despite ranking 10th on the list of top run scorers, Gaikwad’s runs were accumulated over nine matches, as opposed to the ten, eleven, or twelve matches played by his competitors. With an average of 52.17 and two scores over 50, you can see the ranking of sports betting platforms that will have Gaikwad topping the charts if he plays in the next edition of the MPL.
For the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, Gaikwad also plundered runs for fun. The CSK captain sits second in the table for the most runs scored behind, you guessed it, Virat Kohli. Gaikwad’s average of 53.00 betters that of world-renowned cricketers such as Travis Head, Jos Buttler, and fellow Indians Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag. Without the runs of Kohli, Sharma, and Jadeja, one of the standout performers in the IPL could be entrusted to fill that gap.
Changing of the guard
With the retirements of three key players in the Indian team, along with Rahul Dravid stepping down as coach, the door is firmly open for a new guard to establish themselves in the team. Hardik Pandya and Shubman Gill are the favourites to take over the captaincy, while much consideration will have to be given to decide who fills the all-important all-rounder role. Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, and Rahul Tewatia are a few names touted for the role. The hope is that with a wide pool of talent available to the new coach, Indian cricket will remain a success for years to come under the new guard.
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