Shubman Gill can play the ‘Virat Kohli role’ in Asia Cup for India

Virat Kohli was made for white-ball cricket. For all his success in Test cricket, it was the shorter formats where he excelled the most. ODIs have been his best format, by far, but Kohli has also cracked T20 cricket. It wasn’t a coincidence that he won ‘Player of the Tournament’ awards in back-to-back T20 World Cups.

Kohli has the highest average of any player with over 1900 runs in T20Is. He just knew how to set up the game in the first innings, and chasing was as easy as swimming is to a fish. But Kohli has retired from the shortest format. India no longer has their ‘Mr. Dependable’.

Gill to replace Kohli

But worry not, says former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta. He thinks Kohli’s role of innings builder will be perfectly replicated by Shubman Gill. The 25-year-old hadn’t been playing T20Is for over a year but was appointed India’s vice-captain for the Asia Cup 2025.

Gill has been playing the same role for the Gujarat Titans for the last three years in the Indian Premier League (IPL). One can even say that he’s much more explosive than Kohli after getting set and equally safe during the early part of the innings.

“Shubman is a good example of someone post-Virat’s retirement who can bat according to the situation. Because what Virat did over the years successfully and brilliantly, you also need guys like that who can bat through an innings, build and anchor an innings. For me, Shubman is the perfect candidate after Virat’s retirement who can do that job,” Dasgupta told Sports Today.

Gill’s selection was shocking to some, especially considering Yashasvi Jaiswal wasn’t selected. Dasgupta has defended his place in India’s 15-man squad for the Asia Cup. Both have virtually identical strike rates, but Gill had a much better average.

“He’s got 600-plus runs in the IPL. He’s got good numbers in the T20 format. It’s not that you’re picking some random person. I think it’s really unfair to say things like that. This cannot be a reason for sure,” he added.

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