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Former cricketer Michael Atherton feels 'pity' for the player who will be selected as the replacement of Virat Kohli and will be given the number 4 position in India's batting order for the upcoming five-match Test series against England which is set to start from June 20.
Kohli recently announced his retirement from the longest format, finishing his Test career with 123 matches and 9230 runs under his belt. He also had a brilliant average of 46.85 in red-ball cricket. It certainly won't be an easy task to replace a batter of Kohli's calibre in India's Test team and it may even end up taking a lot of time.
Atherton stated that though it is not yet confirmed as to who will replace Kohli and bat at his position in the Test series against England, it will be a huge step towards regenerating and reshaping the India Test team.
"It feels as though at the start of a new World Test Championship cycle, this is the moment that India will start to regenerate and reshape their team. We're not sure who is going to take his place at No. 4 yet, and you kind of pity the person who has to follow because you've just had about 15 years of Kohli and before that, it was Sachin Tendulkar," Atherton said on Sky Sports.
Atherton showers praise on Kohli
The former England cricketer also stated that he loved watching Kohli play every day of his 123 Tests, adding that the superstar India batter put his heart and soul into the format.
"You couldn't take your eyes off Kohli, that's what I always felt like watching him. It was noticeable to me that in his retirement statement, he referenced the challenges that Test cricket had given him. I loved watching him play every day of his 123 Tests. He put his heart and soul into Test cricket, and that energy and passion never seemed to dim," Atherton added.
It will certainly be interesting to see who takes Kohli's place and bats at the number 4 position in the five-match Test series against England. Looking at the current situation, it will most likely either be Shubman Gill or KL Rahul, however the selectors can also make an unexpected move and give the spot to a new face like Shreyas Iyer or Karun Nair.
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