Won’t be too concerned about transition – Vikram Rathour backs India’s next generation to fill in the big shoes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma

India’s former batting coach Vikram Rathour said he isn’t bothered about a smooth transition in T20Is after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s retirement. The veteran duo announced their retirement from the shortest format after leading India to glory in the T20 World Cup 2024.

However, Rathour said there is no bereft of talent and skill in the country and backed the likes of Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal as the backbone of the team’s batting unit.

While Gill top-scored with 170 runs in five T20Is against Zimbabwe, Jaiswal scored 141 runs in three games. India registered a 4-1 series win with a second-string team and the young brigade was able to deliver while playing in overseas conditions.

Rathour, who observed the Indian players from close quarters during his stint, wants the transition to happen gradually at the top level.

“It is never going to be easy to replace people of Rohit and Virat’s caliber,” Rathour told PTI. “The recently concluded [T20I] series against Zimbabwe gave us some glimpse into how the T20 team will look like in the future. But we still have a few years in Test and ODI cricket to get to that point.

“I won’t be too concerned about it [the transition]. We have a lot of depth in Indian cricket. There are lots of very talented and skillful players who are coming through the system. The only thing we need to make sure is the transition is done in a controlled manner. It needs to be gradual.

“I am hoping that by then, players like Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, to name a few, would establish themselves and will make the transition smooth. In ODIs also, we have experienced players like Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and Hardik Pandya to take over.

“There are many exciting players coming through but these two [Gill and Jaiswal] are equipped to play all three formats for a long time. They are going to be the backbone of Indian batting in years to come.”

Rathour tipped Rahul Dravid as the best coach he has worked with. Dravid took India to great heights and played a key role in the success of the team.

“Rahul is the best coach that I have worked with, who gives you lots of space to work, is open to suggestions, and will provide you an honest feedback,” he said. “One of the first discussions we had was about changing the batting template in T20 cricket. We agreed that we needed to bring in more intent and aggression in our batting approach.”

Gautam Gambhir will take over the coaching baton from Rahul Dravid.