'The King Is Dead, Long Live...': Ex-ENG Cricketer On Gill Replacing Virat Kohli

'The King Is Dead, Long Live...': Ex-ENG Cricketer On Gill Replacing Virat Kohli

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Last Updated: July 06, 2025, 08:14 IST

Virat Kohli has retired, but Shubman Gill hasn't taken long to dethrone him as the new king of Indian cricket, feels David Lloyd.

Shubman Gill has broken several of Virat Kohli's records in the England series. (BCCI, AFP)

Cricketer-turned-pundit David Lloyd believes Shubman Gill’s takeover of India’s Test batting reins from Virat Kohli is as seamless as the accession of a new ruler taking the throne after the death of the previous King or Queen. He feels the same about ‘box office’ Rishabh Pant taking the team to the ‘next level’ after MS Dhoni, saying that these signify that world-class players are not as irreplaceable as people think.

Lloyd’s comments came after India’s commanding fourth day at Edgbaston in the second Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Gill hit a near run-a-ball 161, becoming the first batter in history to go past 200 and 150 in a Test, while Pant hit a quickfire 58-ball 65 with eight fours and three sixes. Together, they helped India set a target of 608, which, with England reduced to 72/3 at Stumps, should be defendable on Day 5.

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“People say world-class players are irreplaceable, but are they?" Lloyd wrote in his column for the Daily Mail. “This is a real case of ‘The King is dead, long live the King.’ Shubman Gill has taken over seamlessly from one of the greatest modern batsmen in Virat Kohli and in style too. Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant is always box office and has taken India to the next level after MS Dhoni. High praise indeed, for both," he added.

While Pant has already gone past Dhoni to be considered inarguably India’s greatest wicketkeeper, Gill has taken big steps in assuaging India’s number four worries after Kohli’s Test retirement in May. With 585 runs in just four innings, he’s just eight runs behind the Delhi man’s highest ever tally in a series in England.

‘Will they regret not playing Kuldeep?’: Lloyd

England now need 536 runs to win with seven wickets in hand. The pitch is still not playing enough tricks to make attempting for a draw difficult but it’s a question about India’s incisiveness with the ball and the hosts’ defense.

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Here, Lloyd feels that India might regret playing it safe with Washington Sundar instead of Kuldeep Yadav.

“I had a message from none other than Farokh Engineer questioning why Kuldeep Yadav is not playing. Well, I agree Mr Engineer. On the last day, India may well be crying out for some wrist spin. This is when they need Yadav but in fairness, Siraj and Akash Deep have bowled really well on a surface that hasn’t offered much. India went with the conservative selection of Washington Sundar but will they come to regret not having Yadav on a day five pitch?"

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First Published: July 06, 2025, 08:11 IST

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