Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma should be the first choice for the opener in Test cricket. He made his debut in Test Cricket in 2013 but till now he has not been able to cement his place in this format. The right-hand batsman has mostly played in the middle-order in Test and averages 39.62 from 27 Tests with 1585 runs.
He last played a Test match in Melbourne this year where he scored an unbeaten 63 in the first Inning. He missed the next two Test matches- one because of injury and other for his daughter’s birth. The batsman has not got any further chances in Test matches. He was selected in the squad against West Indies but the player had to sit outside.
Many former cricketers have backed Rohit to play as an opener in the Test match. He can not play as a middle-order batsman now because Hanuma Vihari and Ajinkya Rahane have shown good performance in the last Test match.
It will be interesting to see if the management makes the necessary change and India come out with a new opening pair against South Africa.