Rohit Sharma Retires From Tests; 3 Players Who Can Replace India Captain As An Opener

Rohit Sharma - (Source : @Johns/X.com)

On Wednesday, May 7, India skipper Rohit Sharma took to Instagram, where the 38-year-old announced his retirement from Test cricket. The hitman bid adieu to red-ball cricket after 12-years since making his debut in the longest format of the game in 2013. Notably, the hitman took to social media platform where he announced his decision. 

"It's been an absolute honour to represent my country in whites. Thank you for all the love and support over the years. I will continue to represent India in the ODI format," read Rohit's Instagram story.

Notably, Rohit's decision came ahead of India's five-match Test series against England that starts in June. Now with Rohit stepping away from red-ball cricket, there is a debate as to who will take his place as an opener and bat alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. Meanwhile, this article will shed light on three India stars who can replace Rohit Sharma as opener in the Indian team. 

Players Who Can Replace Rohit Sharma As Opener

1.Abhimanyu Easwaran

The first and foremost option to replace Rohit Sharma in the team is Abhimanyu Easwaran. The 29-year-old batter has had a phenomenal domestic season and is one of the most consistent domestic stars in the country. Notably, Abhimanyu was also a part of India's squad for Australia series, where he travelled with the team as back-up opener and it hinted that the BCCI is considering Easwaran as Rohit's replacement. 

Talking about Abhimanyu's stats, then the right-hand batter had a great Duleep Trophy 2024, Irani Cup 2024 and Ranji Trophy 2024-25 where he smashed a century in each of the tournament. 

2.Shubman Gill

Another option for Team India is to permanently promote Shubman Gill up the order and make him open the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal. Notably, during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India had several opening options where they also opened the innings with KL Rahul in Rohit's absence. However, Gill can be a great option as he also opens the innings for the Men in Blue in other formats and lets look at his stats for India as an opener in Test cricket.

If we look at Gill's numbers in Test cricket, then his average while opening the innings and batting at No.3 are pretty similar. While opening the innings, Gill boasts an average of 32, while he averages 37 batting at No.3

3. Sai Sudharsan

Another great option for BCCI to replace Rohit Sharma in Test cricket as an opener is Sai Sudharsan. The southpaw is in solid form as he is breathing fire in IPL 2025 and also one of the most consistent player in the league with 505 runs in 11 matches. 

Not only IPL, but Sudharsan also had a great domestic season and as a result, he was alongside, Devdutt Padikkal, asked to stay back as reserves for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Lets look at Sai's numbers across tournaments. 

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