Shubman Gill or Ruturaj Gaikwad? Former India player picks Virat Kohli's perfect replacement in T20Is.

Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa has picked his choice to replace Virat Kohli in the Indian cricket team. The two players who are in the race to replace the legendary Virat Kohli are Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Virat Kohli retired from the T20I format after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2024, in which India emerged victorious. After his retirement, there has been speculation about which batter will replace him in India's Playing XI in T20Is.

Both Gill and Gaikwad are highly talented batters and choosing one out of these two batters is a difficult task. Uthappa too found it difficult to pick anyone out of these two batters and argued why both of them can't be in the same playing XI.

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Robin Uthappa picks Virat Kohli's perfect replacement in T20Is

While speaking on Sony Sports Network, Uthappa weighed in on both the players and spoke about their strengths and weaknesses. The former India cricketers reckoned that Gaikwad has been more consistent but also felt that Gill provides India with the versatility of touch and power.

“Why can’t we have both of them because they’re just good players. Their numbers speak for itself, both have phenomenal numbers in T20 cricket. You can’t pick between the two."

"If we look at consistency, you will see that Ruturaj (Gaikwad) is a little more consistent as far as numbers are concerned. But Shubman Gill gives you the versatility of having touch and power as well,” said Uthappa.

Uthappa further argued why can't India play both of them since both are talented players and can play all the formats.

“It’s hard to pick between the two of them, ideally you would like to have both of them to play and why shouldn’t India have both of them play is what I’m asking because both of them are all format players,” the former India wicketkeeper added.

Russel Arnold picks Shubman Gill over Ruturaj Gaikwad

Meanwhile, former Sri Lanka player Russel Arnold chose Shubman Gill over Ruturaj Gaikwad because of his ability to change gears at any point in time. Arnold, who was at the same pan believes Gill is different from the other Indian players and can contribute more to the Indian team.

“I will go for Shubman Gill because I feel there’s lot of solidity about him. The players around him have flair and the he can change gears whenever he wishes. He’s a different type of player to the rest of the Indian players not power cricket but he will get it into different areas,” Arnold said.

Recently, both Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad were part of India's squad for the tour of Zimbabwe. While Gill scored 170 runs in five matches at an average of 42.50 and emerged as the highest run-scorer of the series, Gaikwad was also impressive as he scored 133 runs in four matches at an average of 66.50.

In T20Is, Gill has scored 539 runs in 20 matches at an average of 29.94 and a strike rate of 142.59. He was recently appointed India's vice-captain for T20Is and ODIs. On the other hand, Gaikwad has scored 633 runs in 23 matches at an average of 39.56 and a strike rate of 143.53.