3 Players who can replace Virat Kohli at No. 3 in 1st T20 vs Afghanistan

Team India will take on Afghanistan in the first T20 match on January 11 at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. It is expected to be a competitive series as Afghanistan have picked a strong side, while India also saw the return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. However, just ahead of the first game, India suffered a major setback.

Virat Kohli will be missing the first game on Thursday due to personal reasons. It will give other youngsters chances to get a chance in the playing XI. Here we will talk about three batters that can replace Virat Kohli at No. 3 in the first game on Thursday.

Three Players who can replace Virat Kohli at No. 3 in the first T20 against Afghanistan

3. Tilak Varma

Tilak Varma batted at No. 3 in a few games during the T20I series against Australia at home. He has been pretty good in the limited opportunities that he has had so far. Tilak has scored 310 runs in 14 innings at an average of 34.44. The left-hander is a pretty good batter, can bat well against spin and pace, and can be pretty good to bat at No. 3.

2. Shubman Gill

Rahul Dravid confirmed in the pre-match press conference ahead of the first game that Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal will open the innings for India. That means Shubman Gill will be left finding a spot in the batting order. And now that Virat Kohli is not playing the first game, it will make Gill bat at No. 3. He can also be pretty good at that position, as he has started batting at No. 3 in tests.

1. Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson is also part of the team and will be the first-choice keeper in the team. He is a floater and usually bats at No. 3 for domestic and in the IPL. So Samson can be another good option to replace Virat Kohli at No. 3. Samson has the ability to take the innings together and can play as an anchor if required.