3 Indian Players Whose Test Careers Might End After Virat Kohli's Step Down As The Test Captain

Virat Kohli stepped down as India’s Test skipper on Saturday (January 15). The news shocked cricket fans and experts all around the world. Kohli was the captain of India in all three formats until November 2021. He left the T20I captaincy last year after ICC T20 World Cup 2021.

Later, BCCI also removed him as ODI skipper, as they wanted the same player to lead India in the limited-overs format. Rohit Sharma, who owns the captainship of Team India in ODIs and T20I, is also the front runner to become the new Test captain of India. During his tenure, Virat Kohli backed a few players in his squad.

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Now, since Kohli won’t have any say in the team’s selection, there might be some players whose Test career might be affected. Here we talk about 3 Indian players whose Test careers might end after Virat Kohli stepped down as Test skipper.

3 Indian Players Whose Test Careers Might End After Virat Kohli’s Step Down As The Test Captain

3. Ajinkya Rahane

Also Read: Virat Kohli Is Still Annoyed With The Selectors For Removing Him From ODI Captaincy: Madan Lal

Ajinkya Rahane is the first player on this list. Until last year, Ajinkya Rahane was the vice-captain for India in Tests. He also led India to historic 2-1 victory against Australia early last year. However, his consistent flop show with the bat forced BCCI to snub him as the Test vice-captain. Last year, Rahane scored 479 runs in 23 Test innings at an average of 20.82 and only 2 half-centuries.

Virat Kohli backed Rahane in spite of his poor batting performance for almost a year. In the recent IND vs SA Test series, India’s poor batting was one of the crucial reasons for their defeat. Ajinkya Rahane also got a lot of criticism for his poor batting show during the series. With the ouster of Virat Kohli, Rahane’s career might be adversely affected.

2. Cheteshwar Pujara

Also Read: Indian Team Management Wants Seniors To Stick Around After Virat Kohli’s Sudden Step Down As Test Captain Of India- Reports

Cheteshwar Pujara is another player on this list. Pujara is also battling a poor batting form in Tests for quite a long time now. Being India’s Test specialist, the right-handed batsman owes a lot of responsibility in the longer format. However, he has largely failed to perform in the past year.

The 33-year-old played 26 Tests innings last year, scoring 702 runs at an average of 28.08. He slammed 6 half-centuries but always failed to come up with a three-digit score. Virat Kohli gave Pujara a lot of backing despite his continuous poor show. Now, with the ouster of Virat Kohli, Pujara’s Test career might go into darkness.

1. Ishant Sharma

Ishant Sharma is the third player on this list. Until last year, Ishant Sharma was the permanent pacer for India in Test format. With his height advantage, Sharma used to crush opponents with his bouncers. However, his performance came under criticism since ICC World Test Championship Final in June last year.

Also Read: Three Players Who Can Take Up The Indian Test Vice Captaincy Role

Last year, the right-arm pacer played 13 Tests and only managed to pick 14 wickets at an average of 32.71. He also came up with a poor show during India’s tour of England last year and India vs New Zealand home Test series.

He was also part of the squad in IND vs SA Test series, however, did not get a chance to play any game due to his past failures. With the emergence of young pacers like Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan, and Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma has a tough challenge to be a part of the Test team in the future.

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