3 Players who can replace Virat Kohli for Bangladesh T20I series

Virat Kohli’s 2019 has been nothing short of extraordinary. The right-handed batsman has scored and outscored the opponents South Africa at times during the three-match Test series. While Kohli’s form has been a blessing in disguise, the management would want to rest their premier batsman keeping the fixtures in mind. The Indian skipper has played nearly every game that the Indian team has played in the 2019 calendar year, giving him very little time to rest.

Also, ahead of the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia, Shastri and co would like to try out some of the players before the premier T20 competition. While India tried out Deepak Chahar, Rahul Chahar, and Krunal Pandya in the previous series against West Indies, the management would want to try out the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Shubman Gill, and Sanju Samson. There are reports that Virat Kohli might be rested for the Bangladesh T20I series, so team management can make a few experiments.

The trio has shown capabilities of performing at the highest order for the national team in the 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League. While Suryakumar Yadav emerged as the top Indian run-scorer for the Mumbai Indians, Shubman Gill and Sanju Samson too performed to dig their teams out of misery. Samson would be a re-entrant in the Indian line-up having last played for India way back in 2015 while Gill would be a new face in the T20 setup after having played twice in the ODI format.

Let’s take a look at 3 players who can replace Virat Kohli for Bangladesh T20I series

1. Suryakumar Yadav

One of the most notable and exorbitant names in the domestic T20 circuit in India, Suryakumar Yadav has grown to become a household name. The right-handed batsman has shown his range of skills from opening the innings when needed for the Mumbai Indians to batting at No.3 and as the floater for the team.

In the recently concluded IPL, the right-hander has amassed 424 runs in 16 innings at an average of nearly 27 runs an innings. Further, Yadav was one of the mainstays in the Mumbai unit in their 2018/19 Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament. Yadav is more than a handy batsman and equally a capable fielder.

Further, the right-hander can both play at No.3 and finish the innings, making him priceless in the Indian squad in the absence of Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya. His T20 career average of 29.43 is more than handy statistics for a replacement and certainly would help his case for the T20 World Cup spot.