3 Players who can replace Virat Kohli as T20I captain after T20 WC 2021

Indian skipper and one of the greatest batsmen of modern-day era Virat Kohli has finally decided to step down from the T20I captaincy of India after T20 World Cup 2021. It was in talks for quite some time that Kohli should hand over his T20I captaincy to Rohit Sharma due to excess workload and that Sharma has remarkable records in the given format.

However, Kohli carried the load for a long time and stated that he took this decision after a lot of discussion with Rohit and Indian head coach Ravi Shastri. It has to be noted that many fans even talked that Kohli’s extra workload has been disturbing his batting consistency which is his primary focus. As the celebrated skipper has decided to step down from the role, there are a few names that can be primary contenders for taking the slot. Let’s take a look at

Three players who can replace Virat Kohli as T20I skipper post-T20 WC

1. Rohit Sharma

There hasn’t ever been any doubt on the matter that ace batsman Rohit Sharma is the first person who can take up the charge of T20I after Kohli decides to move away. Now that Kohli has decided to give up the role, Sharma will be the first-choice cricketer in the Indian setup to take this role owing to his massive credentials in the format.

Apart from being a stunning batsman across formats, Sharma leads his IPL franchise Mumbai Indians too. Needless to mention that MI is the most decorated franchise with five IPL titles under its belt, all of which have come under his captaincy. Apart from leading MI, Sharma stands to be the vice-captain of the T20I team and hence his case turns out to be the strongest here.

Even sometimes in Kohli’s absence on the field, Sharma has taken many decisions on the field which have turned absolutely on point. With a sound and logical mind, he can surely ace the role of India’s next T20I skipper after T20 WC.

2. KL Rahul

The next in line is capable wicketkeeping-batsman KL Rahul who can shoulder the given responsibility. Apart from being a terrific batsman, Rahul knows the captaincy task too as he has been carrying the load of his IPL team PBKS for two years now.

Even on an occasion, Rahul has led the Indian side from mid-innings when both Rohit and Kohli were not present on the field. He has also been vice-captain of India’s limited side during the last Australia series when Rohit was away.

Rahul has developed quite a name for himself, especially in India’s white-ball setup. While having 49 T20I matches under his belt with 1557 runs with an average of 39.92, he can surely be in contention to be India’s T20I skipper after Kohli.

3. Rishabh Pant

Pant is known as one explosive and talented batsman in the Indian circuit. He has bagged much appreciation and credit for winning matches for India single-handedly. His valiant innings at Gabba will be remembered for ages as he stole the match from Australia’s claws.

Apart from being a talented wicketkeeping-batsman, Pant showed his leadership skills well enough when he was announced as Delhi Capitals’ skipper in the absence of regular skipper Shreyas Iyer in the Indian phase of IPL 2021.

Needless to say, he led his franchise extremely well and Delhi stands at the top slot ahead of the 2^nd phase of IPL. It was assumed that with the return of Iyer, he may be given his charge back but DC announced in the latest turn that Pant will continue as their skipper and it adds more to his credentials in taking India’s charge further.