Ruturaj Gaikwad on stepping into Virat Kohli’s shoes: “It’s very tough and very hard

After Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirements from Twenty20 cricket, there was a great deal of discussion over who may take their places. Particularly, there were a lot of rumours about who would be the best to replace the legendary batter from Delhi, Virat Kohli.

Naturally, the technically proficient Ruturaj Gaikwad is considered one of the main contenders to take over the mantle among many other batters, especially after being included in the 15-man Zimbabwe tour squad. He hasn’t let off at all so far, especially after making a stunning recovery in the second Twenty20 International, when he amassed a decisive 77 off 47 and helped lead India to 234/2.

After his magnificent performance, there was increased talk about Gaikwad replacing Kohli in the long run. But the 27-year-old gave these analogies little thought. Gaikwad addressed the magnitude of following in the footsteps of such a notable person and acknowledged the great difficulties and task of doing so.

This is a big subject, and I don’t think now is the ideal time to consider it. In a video released by THE BCCI, Gaikwad stated, “It’s pretty tough and very hard to even try to fill in his shoes or compare with him (Kohli).”

Reiterating his remarks from IPL 2024, Gaikwad stated that taking over as captain of CSK after MS Dhoni was a formidable challenge in and of itself. He made it clear that playing his own game and starting his career the way he saw fit was his top goal.

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“It is impossible to fill Mahi Bhai’s (MS Dhoni) shoes, as I had also stated during the IPL. You want to play your own game, you want to start your career the way you want to, and you want to start now. Thus, at this time, that takes precedence,” Gaikwad continued.