'They (Gill, Jaiswal and Pant) now have to drag this Indian Test team forward like Virat did single-handedly.'
It would take the combined might of new Test captain Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant to take the Indian Test team forward in the absence of Virat Kohli, who did the job "single-handedly" in his prime, feels former England captain Michael Vaughan.
The Indian batting line-up seems to have moved on rather smoothly from Kohli and Rohit Sharma going by the performances so far in the Test series against England but Vaughan, in an interview to PTI, said a good start does not mean that the task has been accomplished.
"They (Gill, Jaiswal and Pant) now have to drag this Indian Test team forward like Virat did single-handedly. There's a group of them that I see that play the game the right way," said the cricketer-turned-commentator.
"They've got a great chance of leaving a legacy in a few years' time of doing what Virat Kohli did to the Indian Test team. If they can be anywhere near as close as what he brought to the Test match team, the energy and the number-one status for such a long period of time, they'll have done a decent job," he added.
Kohli and Rohit announced Test retirements ahead of the England tour and Vaughan said while India will always have abundant talent but aura of a player like Kohli is not easy to find.
"You can't move on so suddenly after two legends have retired or moved out of the team. Shubman's made an incredible start as a captain and as a player. He's a wonderful player. In terms of batting, I don't think the team will struggle too much," said Vaughan.
"It's that competitive energy that Virat brought to the Test team. He just brought that buzz and that intensity that you require. Tactically, he was very good as well. That'll be something that Shubman can get better at over the years as captain," he added.
Considering the depth of talent and resources, Vaughan expects India to dominate Test cricket which they have not been able to do despite reaching two WTC (World Test Championship) finals in three cycles.
"I wouldn't be worried about a Test team if I was India. You're always going to produce a very competitive team...I'd want my Test team to be more consistent if I was India. With the talent that you have in India, I'd want it to be more competitive across all the different areas where they play," he said.
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