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What If Kohli, Rohit And Ashwin Retire From Tests Tomorrow? How Will India's Playing XI Look?

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma [Source: @ImTanujSingh/x.com]Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma [Source: @ImTanujSingh/x.com]

The Indian team has been one of the most dominant forces in the cricketing arena for the past decade. They have excelled in all formats of the game. The best part of India's cricketing development has been how the players have adapted their game to suit the two extremes—the T20 format and Test cricket. 

Talking about Test cricket, India has been invincible in the purest format of the game at home. They have dominated even the best of teams and made their home a fortress. A few players have been instrumental in this rise of Indian cricket. Batters like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been at the root of this dominance. But the biggest match winners for the team have been bowlers like Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. 

But what if these players retire from the format tomorrow? What would the new-age Indian playing eleven look like - 

Openers - Yashasvi Jaiswal and Abhimanyu Easwaran

The young left-handed batter Yashashvi Jaiswal has already proved his mettle in the international format. He has been at the opening spot for quite some years now. Replacing Rohit Sharma as Jaiswal's partner will be the Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran. The right-handed batter has been superbly consistent in the domestic arena for the past few seasons. He will be an ideal replacement for Sharma. 

Middle-order - Shubman Gill (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rishabh Pant (wk) and Sarfaraz Khan

Regarded as 'the Prince' of Indian cricket, Shubman Gill has recently done a decent job at number three. Thus, he will retain his place at the number, and as he is projected as the future captain of the team, he might fill in the shoes of Rohit Sharma. 

Ruturaj Gaikwad has proved his dexterity and consistency in all the formats of the game. With his compact batting style and positive approach, Gaikwad will be an ideal replacement of Virat Kohli at number four.

Rishabh Pant has established himself as an integral part of the Indian Test setup. His aggressive approach in the middle order gives India great depth and flexibility. Without the senior pros, Pant would have been one of the critical members of the leadership group. 

Sarfaraz Khan has been one of the stellar performers in the domestic arena for the past three or four seasons. He has been consistent and dynamic. Sarfaraz's ability to bat with the same approach, irrespective of the game situation, will leave even more impact when combined with Rishabh Pant. 

All-rounders - Nitish Reddy and Shams Mulani

Nitish Reddy has shown a lot of promise as a batter. The young pace-bowling all-rounder will not be a great fit with India's new approach to the game, but he might develop into the all-rounder India has been searching for since Kapil Dev hung up his boots. 

Shams Mulani was instrumental in Mumbai's winning the Ranji Trophy last year. Mulani is a very efficient bowler, but his batting abilities in the lower order have been an asset for Mumbai. His presence in the batting line-up will let India feel the vacuum left by Ravindra Jadeja's departure. 

Bowlers - Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav

Aksah Deep showed persistence in his mentality and consistency in his bowling during the Test series against Bangladesh. Given his zeal, Akash Deep will surely be an integral part of this next-gen Indian bowling. 

Jasprit Bumrah is the leader of the Indian pace attack at present. If Ashwin, Jadeja, Kohli, and Rohit retire tomorrow, the responsibilities will increase on Bumrah's shoulders. Not only delivering in the crucial situations, a lot will depend on how Bumrah handles the responsibility of being one of the leaders of the team. 

In Ashwin and Jadeja's absence, India will need a lead spinner to set up. Kuldeep Yadav will be the spearhead for India in the spin department. His variety and guile will be a big plus for the Indian team. Besides, Kuldeep has recently shown great abilities with the bat, which will add depth to the team's batting line-up.

India's Next Gen Text XI

1.Yashasvi Jaiswal
2.Abhimanyu Easwaran
3.Shubman Gill (C)
4.Ruturaj Gaikwad
5.Rishabh Pant (wk)
6.Nitish Reddy
7.Sarfaraz Khan
8.Shams Mulani
9.Jasprit Bumrah
10.Akash Deep
11.Kuldeep Yadav