6 Indians who can break Virender Sehwag's record of highest individual Test score by an Indian

When Virender Sehwag scored 309 against Pakistan in 2004 in Multan he became the first Indian to score a triple century in Test matches. He went past Laxman's 281 which VVS Laxman scored against Australia at the Eden Gardens in 2000-01.

Sehwag then bettered his highest score by scoring yet another triple century, racking up 319 against South Africa at Chennai in 2008. This is the fastest triple century by any player; Sehwag got to the landmark in just 278 balls.

Karun Nair scored 303* in 2016 against England in Chennai, and became the second Indian after Sehwag to score a triple century. He could have surpassed Sehwag's record but India declared after he reached the milestone.

Other than Karun Nair, no other player has gotten to Sehwag's 319 in recent times. But in the domestic circuit, many players have reached 300; all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has three triple hundreds in the Ranji Trophy, while Rohit Sharma also has a couple to his name. These examples coupled with Karun Nair's innings suggest that it is not an impossible task to break Sehwag's record of the highest individual score by an Indian.

Let us look at the players who could possibly breach the 319 mark in the future:

#1 Virat Kohli

The first name that pops into your mind is that of Virat Kohli. He is batting on a different level right now; in the span of just 1.5 years, he has scored six double centuries.

Kohli already has 24 hundreds in Tests and is only behind Hashim Amla in terms of centuries scored by current players. He averages 54.57 in Tests, but since 2016 he has scored 3,337 runs in just 32 matches at an average close to 70.

Kohli has a knack of converting 50s into big hundreds. Out of the 43 times he has registered a 50+ score, he has crossed the 100-run mark on more than half the occasions. He certainly has the ability to score a triple hundred, and is the biggest threat to Sehwag's record.

#2 KL Rahul

KL Rahul is an excellent stroke player and has scored five hundreds, all in different countries - Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies, England and India.

Out of his five hundreds, two have been around the 150-mark - the 149 which he got against England in the last match of the 2018 tour, and the 158 he scored against West Indies in Kingston in 2016. He was unlucky to miss a well-deserved double century when he got out on 199 against England in 2016 at Chennai.

Rahul's shot-making enables him to score runs at a quick pace, which in turn helps in scoring big hundreds in relatively short time.

In first class cricket, Rahul has a triple century to his name; he scored 337 from 448 balls while playing for Karnataka against Uttar Pradesh. He has the talent and skills to score big double hundreds and triple hundreds, and could well get close to Sehwag's mark in the future.

#3 Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteswar Pujara has been an integral part of the Indian Test side for a while now. He has scored 4,905 runs in Tests at an average of 49.54, with 15 hundreds and 19 fifties.

Out of his 15 hundreds, three have been 150+ scores and three have been double hundreds.

In first class cricket, Pujara averages close to 54 and has 45 hundreds in total. Twice he has scored triple hundreds; he scored his highest of 352 while playing for Saurashtra against Karnataka in 2013. The other triple hundred is the 302* he scored against Orissa in 2008.

Pujara has the ability to bat for long hours and score big runs, and he can certainly score a triple hundred at the international level too.

#4 Karun Nair

Karun Nair scored 303* against England in 2016 and became the second Indian after Sehwag to score a triple hundred in Tests. He hasn't been given many opportunities after that though, as he has played just six Tests till now.

In first class cricket, Nair averages more than 51 and has scored close to 4,500 runs, with 13 hundreds and 17 50s. Nair also has a triple hundred to his name in the first class cricket; he scored 328 while playing for Karnataka against Tamil Nadu in 2015.

These big knocks clearly show that Nair has the temperament as well as skill to achieve the milestone.

#5 Prithvi Shaw

The new batting sensation in Indian cricket, Prithvi Shaw made his debut in the recent Test series against West Indies. In his debut innings, he scored 134 from just 154 balls.

In the second Test, Shaw was on his way to another hundred but a false shot sent him back to the pavilion; he scored 70 in that innings from just 53 balls.

Shaw is also a stroke-maker and loves playing his shots. In just two Tests people have seen resemblances to Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and even Brian Lara in him. That said, he still has a very long way to go as he is just 19 years old.

In his first-class career, Shaw has registered 8 hundreds and 6 fifties in just 16 matches, with 188 being his highest score. He clearly has the ability to score hundreds; he just needs to control his shots and convert hundreds into truly big ones.

#6 Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant, like Prithvi Shaw, is another youngster who recently made his debut for India. In the last match of the England tour, Pant and KL Rahul played brilliantly and shared a 204-run partnership.

The way these two played, at one point they even raised hopes of an Indian win. Pant scored 114 from 146 balls in that innings.

In the recent series against West Indies, he batted twice and on both occasions, he missed a century by a whisker - he was dismissed on the score of 92 in both matches.

The only thing that could work against Pant is that he bats in the lower middle order and mostly has to bat with the all-rounders and tail-enders, and consequently might not get enough time to score big hundreds. But the pace at which he scores runs gives him the advantage to score daddy hundreds quickly.

In Ranji Trophy Pant has a triple hundred to his name; he scored 308 from 326 balls against Maharashtra in 2016.