Players who can replace Rohit Sharma in India’s T20I side as an Opener – CricIndeed

A lot of events happened in India cricket in recent few weeks. We witnessed them winning an ICC World Cup after a gap of 13 long years, the departure of their head coach Rahul Dravid following the end of his contract tenure and the retirement of their most experienced duo Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the T20I format.

While it was a fairytale ending for the trio, it does leave India without their talismanic batter Rohit at the top of the order. Not just as an opener, but what the men in blue will miss dear is his leadership skills. He led from the front in the recent T20 tourney but as it is, every good thing must end.

With India building up for the future, here are the probable and possible opening replacements for Rohit Sharma in T20I cricket for India.

Yashasvi Jaiswal

The young Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has had an incredible start to his international career averaging 50.52 in the 33 innings spread across Tests and T20Is. With a century to his name, the left-hander up and running shortest format with a staggering strike rate of just under 160 in 17 knocks.

He was India’s back-up opener in the T20 World Cup and was unlucky not to feature in the playing XI in the presence of Rohit and Virat. However, with them being away from the scene now, we can expect Jaiswal to have a more prominent role in India’s T20 line-up.

Shubman Gill

Considered a future leader of the team, Shubman Gill has been given the role of opening the innings in the Zimbabwe tour along with the captaincy duties. Gill, unlike the ODI and IPL has been inconsistent when it comes to T20Is but is likely to get an extended run at the format.

Despite being not so prolific for India in T20s, the right-hander has scored a century and couple of fifty plus scores while striking at more than 140. He is a prime candidate to be a long-term opening partner for Jaiswal.

Abhishek Sharma

Yet another left-hander who has made a strong case for himself to be in the reckoning is Abhishek Sharma. The young batter impressed everyone with his attacking stroke play in the IPL where he featured for the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Abhishek batted with a strike rate of 204.22 throughout the 2024 season while scoring 484 runs. This earned him a maiden international callup where he scored a scintillating century in his very 2^nd game against Zimbabwe. In the longer run, Abhishek could very well be included in the scheme of things.

Ruturaj Gaikwad

Primarily an opener, Gaikwad has been given the role to bat at No.3 in the ongoing Zimbabwe series. While he has adapted to that position, the CSK opener is better off playing as an opener as he is a similar mold of player to that of Shubman Gill.

In his brief T20I career for India, Gaikwad has amassed 633 runs in just 20 innings with an amazing strike rate close to 144. With a void left behind at the top of the order, It is certain that the right-hander will an extended run in the shortest format.

Ishan Kishan

Not a certainty in the squad by any means now, but Ishan Kishan has decent amount of experience at the highest level. He has played 32 games for India in the format, but consistency has always eluded him.

He averages a middling 25.68 and the strike rate of 124.38 is not something to boast about either. But a spectacular domestic season could see him back in the India color in the white-ball formats.

Now Read: Who will replace Virat Kohli at No.3 in T20I for Team India?