Is the young India ready to replace the big three in whites?

Is Shubman Gill’s Indian team ready to replace the big three in tests?

Shubman Gill was recently appointed the 37th captain of the Indian Test team. The right-handed batter took on the role following the retirement of Rohit Sharma. He moved down the order to number four after the position was vacated by Virat Kohli. The first assignment for Gill came in the form of a five-match series in England. A place where MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma could not manage to win a series. 

After losing the first test at Headingley, the young Indian skipper was pushed on the back foot. However, it will be a huge deal for the Indian fans if Gill does the unthinkable and leads an inexperienced team to win the first Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. However, will the 25-year-old get his due credit? The increasing toxicity of the fan bases of the three Indian cricketers has resulted in belittling the achievements of others. 

The three players, despite being great servants to the Indian cricket team, might have overstayed in the test team. Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were showing signs of poor form with the bat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25. The two white-ball giants, along with MS Dhoni, have possibly been replaced by a younger crop of players.

Rishabh Pant dethrones MS Dhoni

Rishabh Pant in 44 matches has as many as eight centuries in red-ball cricket to his name while having already been dismissed in a score of 90s seven times in his short career. The left-handed batter has played less than half of the games that Dhoni played in the format. 

Not only has Pant played some memorable knocks in the longest format, but he has also outnumbered Dhoni in terms of centuries as a wicketkeeper in tests, becoming the player with the most test tons for India as a wicketkeeper. 

The batting skills of the 27-year-old are so high that suggestions are being made that Pant should be relieved of his keeping duties. As he became the first Indian batter to score twin centuries in England, Pant’s workload became a hotly contested topic. Given Karun Nair’s horrible return to international cricket, the 33-year-old could very well be replaced by Dhruv Jurel, who can keep the wickets as well.

However, what makes Pant’s record as a wicketkeeper so special is how young he still is. The left-handed batter has scored eight centuries in the longest format already. To put his incredible numbers in some perspective, Adam Gilchrist, who is considered to be the best wicketkeeper batter in the history of the game, had not debuted for Australia at this age. 

Wicketkeeping vs Batting

For a long time, India had trusted players in the same role, prioritizing their wicketkeeping skills rather than batting. Even during Dhoni’s playing days, Dinesh Karthik, who had a better average in first-class cricket, had to sit out of the team. Pant could have followed the same path as Karthik, as Wriddhiman Saha was often preferred over him due to his higher potential behind the gloves. 

However, the most expensive player in the IPL has silenced all his doubters not only with his centuries but also by making runs in a style that pushes the opposition further on the back foot. In addition to his audacious shot-making, Pant has shone on away tours. While his six centuries away from home have not resulted in a win, the left-handed batter has played multiple pivotal knocks and famously helped India win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2020/21. 

Pant vs Dhoni

Apart from slightly better wicketkeeping skills from Dhoni in test cricket, Rishabh Pant has been clearly better than the former wicketkeeper. While a drop could be pretty costly in red-ball cricket, what reduces the gap between the two wicketkeepers is the ability of batters to play more from their crease. 

Unlike white-ball cricket, where batters charge down the pitch and miss the ball, it creates an opportunity for someone like Dhoni to whip the bails off quickly. However, in tests, with batters playing from their creases, there are fewer opportunities for stumping. 

When it comes to performances while being in front of the stumps, Pant has been much better, in spite of his shorter career. The left-handed batter has played half the games that Dhoni played in his career and still holds the record for scoring the most centuries as a wicketkeeper for India. He has over 3000 runs while averaging close to 45. Apart from his astonishing numbers, Pant has had to play in difficult times, batting higher in the order. Dhoni played 22 innings at number six or higher in comparison to Pant, who has already played 40 innings at six or higher. 

Jaiswal replaces Rohit at the top

It is a travesty that Yashasvi Jaiswal has played only a solitary One-Day International game in his career. Many who have seen the young left-handed cricketer grow into the international cricketer that he is today have said that his best format is List A cricket. However, in the limited chances he has had to represent the Indian team in the other two formats, the 23-year-old has shown his high potential. While Rohit Sharma is an all-time great in the white-ball circuit, he had his fair share of struggles in test cricket during his career. 

Initially, the former Indian skipper started his career as a middle-order batter. However, given his success while opening the innings in white-ball cricket, Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri gave him a chance to open the innings in 2019. He was an instant success and was highly consistent in the Indian batting order during the home and away tours against England in 2021 and 2024. However, the dip in form in late 2024 before his retirement resulted in his image being tarnished. 

Jaiswal, on the other hand, has been sensational against the red cherry in difficult conditions. The left-handed batter has scored five centuries, including a hundred on debut. What makes his knocks so special is his ability to rack up huge scores once he gets set. He has converted four of his five tons into 150+ scores. He scored a ton in his first game in the West Indies, Australia, and England. At home, he scored a couple of double-hundreds against England in 2024. 

The left-handed variation

For a long time in the history of Indian cricket, the role of the opening batter has been filled by right-handed batters. There have been a few anomalies with Shikhar Dhawan and Abhinav Mukund in the previous decade. However, the most successful openers, be it Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, Murali Vijay, or even Rohit Sharma, the right-handed Indian openers have found far more success. 

With Yashasvi Jaiswal and other left-handed batters emerging from domestic cricket, including the likes of Sai Sudharsan, the Indian team will be looking to have a left-right combination at the top of the order. Having a pair of left and right-handed batters prevents the bowling team from constantly bowling at a similar type of player. 

For bowlers who can only swing in one direction, bowling at two different batters can be a great challenge. Apart from Jaiswal’s left-handedness, the 23-year-old packs a punch in terms of his aggressiveness. He can change the course of a session in a span of a few balls if the bowlers miss their mark.

Jaiswal falls short of Rohit in catching

The one key aspect where Yashasvi Jaiswal falls short of Rohit Sharma is his catching abilities. The young southpaw's struggles while fielding in the slip cordon have been pretty evident. He has dropped multiple costly catches in England and Australia. 

On the other hand, Rohit Sharma, even during his struggles with the bat in hand, was often spotless with his fielding in the cordon. The former test skipper was great while fielding against spin bowlers in India and had a safe pair of hands against the faster bowlers in seam-friendly conditions.

Gill operates smoothly at number four

When talking about transition in cricket, there is always a dip in quality when trying to replace a talismanic player. However, no other cricketing nation has been luckier than India with their number fours in the longest format. For 21 years, it was Sachin Tendulkar who stood like a rock at number four. It was almost impossible to think about someone who would be able to replace Tendulkar, but then Virat Kohli emerged and remained solid at the position for another 12 years.

While Kohli was not as close to Sachin when it came to consistency, there were doubts over the fact whether Shubman Gill would be able to continue the rich legacy of batting at number four. Not only has he made the Indian fans believe that he is ready for the spot, but also broke some records in his first two tests. 

Like Kohli, Gill scored a century in his first innings at number four. In his second game at the position, the newly appointed Indian skipper scored 430 runs in a test and became the first batter in the history of the game to score 250 and 150 in the same test as he led the Indian team to their first win at Edgbaston. 

Gill gets rid of his troubles through inward movement

Often, when a player is appointed captain, their performance takes a dip. Shubman Gill arrived on this tour on the back of an impressive performance in the IPL 2025. However, his red-ball form was under a lot of criticism as he averaged around 35 prior to the first two tests. 

It was a well-documented fact that Gill had trouble facing balls that came into the right-hander. But thanks to some placid tracks and an inexperienced bowling attack, the Indian skipper put on some impressive performances at Headingley and Edgbaston to make and sort out his troubles against the in-swinging deliveries. Backed by a solid defense, the Indian skipper has showcased that he is ready to work on his weaknesses, something that Kohli had trouble doing himself. Unlike Gill, the former Indian skipper had trouble with balls pitched outside his off-stump and moving away from the right-hander.