'At this stage, I want a senior cricketer to take up the captaincy and see the Indian team through this transition phase.'
Virat Kohli's retirement from Tests leaves a huge void in the Indian team for the five-Test series in England, starting next month.
He was an integral cog in the middle order in Tests, having successfully taken over the No. 4 position after Sachin Tendulkar's retirement.
Out of his 123 Tests, Kohli batted at No. 4 in 99 Tests where he boasted a superb record -- 7,564 runs at an average of 50.09, including 26 centuries and 21 fifties.
In the concluding segment of a two-part interview, former chief selector M S K Prasad tells Harish Kotian/Rediff, "All our youngsters are quite capable of performing at the highest level thanks to the high standards set by the likes of Dhoni, Kohli and Rohit... You never know, we could unearth the next superstar in the England series."
Kohli was one of the fittest players ever to have played cricket. He not only focused on his own fitness but during his captaincy stint he also set high fitness benchmarks for the entire team.
Would you say he was the catalyst for the change in fitness standards in Indian cricket?
He was the one who said that a fully fit Indian team will go on to win more number of matches or tournaments. So that was his principle and his ideology.
And now you can see all the players who are coming in subsequent generations, they are all extremely fit.
The young players started emulating Virat Kohli. If you had to become Virat Kohli you not only had to be a technically sound player, not only be a player with abundance of skill, but you should also be extremely fit.
He has become a symbol, or a role model for the next generation. It's not about your skill or not about your technique, it's more than that. You need to be extremely fit.
It's not about your own individual performance, but your performances on the field and contributing on the field also makes a huge difference.
That's the impact that Virat Kohli has brought into Indian cricket. He might not have won many World Cups, but he has created systems, he has created teams that will go on to win World Cups, or that will go on to win Championships later on.
How big a void is Kohli's absence in the Indian Test batting line-up because for the last decade-and-a-half he was a big presence in the middle order?
It is definitely very big shoes to fill. It will be very tough to replace him but that is the nature of the sport. The players will keep coming and going and this will game will continue to move on.
It will be very difficult to step into his shoes but at the same time, we have to respect his decision of someone who has played more than 100 Tests, scored more than 9,000 runs, has hit the most double centuries for India, the player of the last decade for India.
Is he the last of the superstar cricketers of this era?
After Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev quit the scene, we thought Indian cricket was finished but then came along Sachin Tendulkar along with Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and V V S Laxman.
After them came Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
You never know who will come up in the next few years, that's the beauty of the game.
Shubman Gill could end up becoming a legendary cricketer, Yashasvi Jaiswal is another one with enormous potential, that's how the times keeping changing and you see new champions emerging.
Undoubtedly, Virat Kohli is a one in a generation player and we are very fortunate to be born in a generation where we could enjoy his illustrious career.
Rohit Sharma has also retired. How big a blow is it for India's hopes for the Test series in England considering that our batting has weakened considerably?
We never know what is in the offing. Who could imagined that Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly would make a such successful debut in England in 1996?
We have an abundance of talent and all our youngsters are quite capable of performing at the highest level thanks to the high standards set by the likes of Dhoni, Kohli and Rohit in the last 10-15 years. The young kids have emulated these greats and reached up to this level.
You never know, we could unearth the next superstar in the England series and we could be talking about him for the next 10, 12 years.
As a former chief selector, who would be your pick for the captaincy in the England Test series.
Should Jasprit Bumrah lead the team despite him not being certain of playing all five Tests?
Or should the experienced K L Rahul get the nod?
Or should selectors take a brave call and name the young Shubman Gill as the captain keeping an eye on the future
Ideally at this stage, I want a senior cricketer to take up the captaincy and see the Indian team through this transition phase.
Someone like Bumrah or K L Rahul should take over the captaincy and Shubman Gill should be the deputy.
As and when required Gill can step up to lead the Test team on a stop-gap basis before he takes over the role permanently in the future. That would help him settle down in the role and understand the situations better as a leader.
Talking about Rahul, he has done well in England with a couple of centuries to his name and has also been in good form in white ball cricket recently.
Is he the ideal candidate to replace Kohli at No. 4 in the Test team?
Rahul is the ideal candidate to replace Kohli at No. 4. We already have Jaiswal. Abhimanyu Eswaran is also in contention as the second opener with Gill at No. 3.
Kohli's absence has created a big void at No. 4. I would love to see Rahul bat at No. 4. You can't have too many youngsters or inexperienced players in the batting line-up.
In English conditions, where the new ball swings a lot you can suddenly lose a couple of early wickets and the middle order is exposed then things can be difficult for the young batters.
At the top you have Jaiswal, who has scored more than 1,700 runs in 19 Tests, then Gill at No, 3 who has scored more than 1,800 runs, so if you have Rahul at No. 4, who has eight centuries to his name and has done well in SENA countries, it makes the Indian batting line-up look quite solid.
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