The former Zimbabwe captain and the current head coach of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Andy Flower has named his five young batters to watch out for in Indian cricket to carry the legacy of the former players- Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in this format.
The comment from the veteran came before the start of the five-match T20I series between hosts Zimbabwe and the two-time champions India, who were handed a 13-run defeat in the first game of the series, with a 13-run margin, as their batters didn’t show any application in this department.
Andy Flower feels that the current India captain for the series Shubman Gill, the aggressive opening left-handed batters- Abhishek Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal, the wicket-keeper batter Dhruv Jurel, and the top order batter Riyan Parag have the mental edge and skill to take the team forward.
‘Shubman Gill plays in a similar way to Virat Kohli’- Andy Flower
The head coach of the RCB side, Andy Flower observes that Shubman Gill plays almost in the same fashion as how Kohli has been batting over the years. The former has nailed 366 T20I runs for India in 15 innings, at a strike rate of nearly 143, but at a struggling average of 30, with a fifty and a century each.
‘If I put my IPL coaching hat on, then I’ll have to keep a keen watch on the players. (Yashasvi) Jaiswal didn’t play a single match in the T20 World Cup but he is an incredible option.’ The wicket-keeper batter Andy Flower expressed to Times of India recently. ‘Shubman Gill, by his standards, had a quiet IPL but he looks a very intelligent player. He plays in a similar way to Virat Kohli.’
He also looks forward to seeing how Abhishek bats in the opening position, as he has the game of tearing apart the bowling of many teams, while Jurel has shown his caliber already in the home Test series against England.
‘I’m looking forward to Abhishek Sharma performing. I really like the look of Dhruv Jurel. Watching him in the Test series against England, he did brilliantly.’ The veteran remarked. ‘Riyan Parag has the swagger that you need in international cricket.’
Kohli spent a lot of time with Andy Flower during the IPL 2024, as he ended with the ‘Orange Cap’ being the highest run-getter of the competition, with 741 runs in 15 innings, at an average of 61.75 and a strike rate of nearly 155.
When asked where he was aware of the former captain’s retirement planning at the end of the T20 World Cup 2024, the 56-year-old displayed surprise on the decision, as he trusts that Kohli is so disciplined without being robotic.
‘I hadn’t thought about it (Virat Kohli’s retirement). I was a little surprised. I really enjoyed working with Virat in the IPL last season.’ Andy Flower added during the session. ‘I have utmost respect for him, obviously as a player but also the way he supported Faf du Plessis and myself and Mo Bopat, the director of cricket.’
Flower stretched on how Virat always looks to keep things simple and easy as he has a brilliant cricketing brain and also has the power of thinking out of the box.
‘He is a brilliant role model. He is an outstanding professional sportsperson. He looks after himself really well. He is disciplined without being robotic.’ Andy Flower reflected. ‘He laughs and has fun, has a cheeky sense of humor and takes the mickey out of people. He has a very good cricket brain and can think out of the box too.’
Because of India has a strong domestic structure and ready-made talent, there are always players to replace those greats of the game.
‘The strong domestic structure in India means there will always be readymade replacements. It’s certainly nothing to be scared of. India will keep producing these greats.’ Andy Flower concluded. ‘There is always someone ready to come in. Whenever some of the great cricketers have retired, you think they won’t be and cannot be replaced. But people move on very quickly. All eyes adjust and focus on the next talent that comes along.’