Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes that to lead the Indian Test squad in the absence of Virat Kohli, who performed the role "single-handedly" in his prime, the combined strength of new Test skipper Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Rishabh Pant is required.
Based on their performances thus far in the Test series against England, the Indian batting lineup appears to have transitioned from Kohli and Rohit Sharma pretty easily. However, Vaughan stated that a strong start does not imply that the mission has been completed.
"They (Gill, Jaiswal, and Pant) now have to drag this Indian Test team forward like Virat did single-handedly. There's a group of them that I see that play the game the right way. They've got a great chance of leaving a legacy in a few years' time by doing what Virat Kohli did to the Indian Test team. If they can be anywhere near as close as what he brought to the Test match team, the energy, and the number-one status for such a long period of time, they'll have done a decent job," Vaughan told PTI.
Ahead of the England tour, Kohli and Rohit announced their retirements from Test cricket. Vaughan stated that although India would always have a wealth of talent, it is difficult to find a player with the aura of Kohli.
"You can't move on so suddenly after two legends have retired or moved out of the team. Shubman's made an incredible start as a captain and as a player. He's a wonderful player. In terms of batting, I don't think the team will struggle too much.
It's that competitive energy that Virat brought to the Test team. He just brought that buzz and that intensity that you require. Tactically, he was very good as well. That'll be something that Shubman can get better at over the years as captain," he added.
Despite making it to two World Test Championship (WTC) finals in three cycles, Vaughan expects India to dominate Test cricket given their depth of skill and resources.
"I wouldn't be worried about a Test team if I was India. You're always going to produce a very competitive team...I'd want my Test team to be more consistent if I was in India. With the talent that you have in India, I'd want it to be more competitive across all the different areas where they play," he said.
Jaiswal scored a century in the first Test against England and 87 in the second match. Rishabh Pant smashed twin centuries in the first Test, while captain Shubman Gill followed his 147 in Leeds with a huge 269 in Birmingham.
(PTI inputs)
