Rohit Sharma has been a phenomenal opener for the Indian team in all three formats of the game. The Indian skipper first debuted for India in the ODI format, back in 2007. Rohit’s career took a massive turn for the better after being made to open the batting in 2013, where he established himself as one of the best openers from the Indian team of all time.
Since his return to the Indian team in 2013, he has set standards for everyone else and further raised them almost every year. In limited-overs cricket, there are only a few players that can match his skills, but the Indian veteran has struggled to get going in recent times.
Rohit Sharma played his 50th test for India in WTC final 2023, where he scored only 58 runs in the game, failing to inspire to team to win the ICC trophy. In the 2022 T20 World Cup, He had a campaign to forget in Australia as captain in six matches, he scored 116 runs at an average of 19.33 and a strike rate of 106.42.
Rohit’s age and injury-prone body might not allow him to play in all three formats anymore. Here are five players, who deserve a place in the Indian team in place of the Indian skipper.
1. Ruturaj Gaikwad
Ruturaj Gaikwad is one of the emerging stars in Indian Cricket, as he showed excellent temperament to excel in all three formats of the game in domestic cricket, the youngster is one of those notable players who are on the verge of making it into the Indian team, with Rohit Sharma being in the last phase of his career, the CSK opener would look to make the opening spot in the Indian team.
The 26-year-old has been fantastic for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2023 season and has also done well for Maharashtra across formats. In 28 first-class games, Gaikwad has scored 1941 runs with nine Test hundreds to his name and can perform consistently well for the Indian team. The CSK opener would look to make the opening spot his own In the Indian team, as he got excellent technical skills in his batting.
2. Yashasvi Jaiswal
Yashasvi Jaiswal has impressed everyone which his fearless approach to batting at the top of the order, taking on the world-class bowlers in IPL 2023. The Mumbai batter has been touted to make his international debut for India very soon as he has shown promises in domestic cricket for Mumbai in all three formats of the game.
The Southpaw can play for the country in all three formats of the game. With the age on his side, the youngster is expected to break numerous records in International Cricket. Given his form and confidence, he would be a vital cog for the Indian team in World Cricket. The youngster has a very good chance of breaking the record of legendary Sachin Tendulkar in the future. He is expected to make it into the Indian team for the West Indies tour in July.
3. Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan can be the replacement for Rohit Sharma in the Indian team in the white ball format of the game as he brings different variety opening the innings and in ODI cricket has amassed 510 runs at a good average of 42.5 in 14 ODIs, including an outstanding 210-run knock in the game against Bangladesh.
The 24-year-old can also play as the wicket-keeper in the team, as he showed the ability to bat anywhere in the batting order, the left-handed batter had a reasonable outing with the bat for the Mumbai Indians scoring 454 runs from 15 games at an impressive strike rate of 142.76 in recently concluded IPL 2023. He can be a perfect team man as he brings in a fearless approach going forward in International Cricket.
4. Mayank Agarwal
Mayank Agarwal has been out of India’s Test side due to his string of poor performances but the Karnataka batter played exceptionally well in Ranji Trophy 2022-23 scoring 990 runs in just 13 innings for Karnataka at a brilliant average of 82.5. With this performance, Agarwal has a chance of earning a recall shortly.
Agarwal was dropped from the Indian Test team’s playing XI after the home series against Sri Lanka last year. The Indian opener will aim to make a step closer to the Indian Test squad by performing well in the upcoming Duleep Trophy for South Zone and will be keen to make it into the Indian team next WTC Cycle and can be also a crucial player for the Indian team in the white-ball format given his experience in the domestic cricket.
5. Prithvi Shaw
Indian opener Prithvi Shaw was a brilliant batter for the Indian team in the U-19 World Cup prodigy alongside Shubman Gill, under Shaw India lifted the 2018 U-19 WC title by beating Australia in the finals in New Zealand. Prithvi made his debut in the senior team in the very same year after winning the junior World Cup, he has represented Men in Blue in all formats, but could not keep his spot in the side due to the high competition in the team.
Prithvi Shaw has been scoring runs consistently across formats in domestic cricket in all three formats and has earned a recall in the T20I series against New Zealand, but could not make it into the playing 11 of the Indian side. Shaw has played five Tests, six ODIs, and a lone T20I for the Indian side and will look to do well for the Men in Blue in the future.