Sanjay Manjrekar openly announces Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma's successors for team India

India's senior cricketers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are at the end stages of their respective careers. Both of them have achieved unprecedented success for India but the time has come to pass on the responsibility to carry Indian cricket forward.

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has picked two players who can replace Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the upcoming years. Manjrekar named Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal as the two players who can replace Rohit and Kohli for several years to come.

Both Gill and Jaiswal have had a fantastic start to their respective international careers and are already seen as the next-generation superstars. Both the players are young and have the ability to strive through the difficulties of international cricket.

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Sanjay Manjrekar picks the successors of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli

During a conversation on Star Sports, Sanjay Manjrekar was asked about his choices for the replacement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Manjrekar feels that Shubman Gill will keep doing well in the white-ball formats while Yashasvi Jaiswal will score runs consistently once he gets an opportunity in the ODIs.

"Shubman Gill will keep doing well in white-ball cricket. He has already scored a 200 (in ODIs) and has a good record," Manjrekar observed.

"We haven't seen Yashasvi yet (on being asked about the preference between Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal in white-ball cricket) although we have seen him in Tests. For him, that world is there to capture. If he gets the opportunity, I'm sure that he will take his chances," he added.

A BIG question❓ Who will be #TeamIndia's next Rohit and Virat?@sanjaymanjrekar and Sanjay Bangar reveal their picks in the latest episode of DEEP POINT! 👀

Catch it now on Disney+ Hotstar, Star Sports 1 & Star Sports 1 Hindi! pic.twitter.com/TlF7vNynoj

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) January 28, 2025

Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal's international numbers

While Shubman Gill has an exceptional record in ODIs, he has yet to make his mark in the Test format. Gill has faced technical issues in the red-ball format which has been a cause of concern for him. However, he has the skills and the talent to overcome his weaknesses.

The 25-year-old has scored 2328 runs in 47 ODIs at a staggering average of 58.20 and a strike rate of more than 100. He is also India's vice-captain for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and is already looked at as a successor to Rohit Sharma to lead the team in ODIs.

Meanwhile, Yashasvi Jaiswal has started his international career with a bang. Jaiswal has been considered mostly for Tests so far but can do well in all the formats. The left-handed opener has scored 1798 runs in 19 Tests at an average of 52.88 with 4 hundreds.

Jaiswal is yet to play an ODI but has featured in 23 T20Is. Despite his inexperience in the 50-over format, Jaiswal has been picked in India's Champions Trophy squad as the third opener behind Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill.

Big expectations from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli

While both Gill and Jaiswal are in India's squad for the Champions Trophy, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are likely to play a key role in the campaign. Being the captain, Rohit Sharma will be expected to bring his attacking game and lead the team from the front.

Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been going through a rough patch in Test cricket recently. They failed to make a significant impact in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and also during India's home Test season.