Before the England series, legendary India batter Virat Kohli announced his retirement from the longest format of the game. In the new-look India side, Shubman Gill was made the captain. He also replaced Virat Kohli in the coveted no.4 spot. In the first Test vs England in Headingley, Gill performed exceptionally well, as he slammed 147 in the first innings, thus becoming the youngest Indian player to slam a century on captaincy debut. However, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin wants someone else and not Gill to be compared to Virat Kohli in terms of batting ability.

In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Ash Ki Baat, Ashwin suggested that Rishabh Pant should be compared to Virat Kohli because he is one of the rare players who can pick the line and length of a ball quickly and get into great positions.

"Rishabh Pant should be compared with the likes of Virat Kohli. He is a mainstream batter. Because he has got so much time. Some of these special batters have that knack of picking the ball early. They pick the line quickly, pick the length quickly and they get into lovely positions. Rishabh Pant is one of those rare players who has got that special skill," Ashwin said.

ALSO READ: Jasprit Bumrah Out Of 2nd Test vs England

Rishabh Pant was in sublime form in the first Test at Headingley. He scored 134 in the first innings and 118 in the second. He became the first Indian wicketkeeper batter and the second overall after Andy Flower to hit centuries in both innings of a Test Match.

Pant now has 8 centuries in Test Cricket to his name. He has thus overtaken MS Dhoni to become the wicketkeeper with the most Test tons for India. Dhoni had 6 scores of 100 and above to his name in the longest format.