Shreyas Iyer And...? 3 Potential Replacements For Rohit Sharma In India's Test Team

Aashay Chopade

Rohit Sharma has failed in BGT 2024-25 (Source:@CricCrazyJohns/X.com)Rohit Sharma has failed in BGT 2024-25 (Source:@CricCrazyJohns/X.com)

Rohit Sharma has been at the centre of criticism since the New Zealand series and his repeated failures have put his place in the Test squad in danger. There are some intense calls for his retirement and he has looked all at sea in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against the moving ball.

The Indian skipper has moved down the order in BGT to let Rahul open the innings and capitalise on his good form, but Rohit himself has not been able to live upto his billing. Now, with Rahul doing well as an opener, his place in the Indian Test side looks secured at the top of the order and Rohit could face the axe or retire after BGT.

India have plenty of quality batters at their disposal who can replace Rohit in India's Test squad and let's see which could be the three best options.

Dhruv Jurel

Dhurv Jurel has impressed in his short four-match career so far and also made way as a pure batter in the first Test. He could not score much in that Test, but has shown great temperament in his initial three matches, delivering under pressure with great ease. 

The wicketkeeper batter has a solid technique at his disposal too and while playing for India A before the BGT, he scored twin fifties in a game where all other Indian batters struggled. He has a solid first-class record which includes nine fifties and one hundred at an average of 45.74 in 22 matches and could be a long-term option for India.

One thing that makes him a better option than rest of the players is his solid technique both against spin and pace, which makes him one of the most complete batters among young arsenal in Indian cricket.

Sarfaraz Khan

Sarfaraz Khan has been one of the most consistent batters in domestic cricket in India. He got his Indian cap after a long wait and immediately made an impact with twin fifties on his debut. He then smashed 150 against New Zealand and it seemed like India have found a consistent scorer in middle order.

However, failures in the next two Tests created some doubts over his technique and there are few concerns over his game against quality pace bowling. Sarfaraz though has scored 4593 runs in first-class cricket with an average of 65.61 and has 16 hundreds in it, so he clearly knows the way to succeed regularly.

The right-handed batter also has the knack of scoring daddy hundreds and has great hunger for runs. He also plays positive cricket and has the ability to counter-attack in tense situations. This game could be handy when the number 6 batter has to bat with tailenders, and it makes Sarafraz a handy replacement of Rohit Sharma.

Shreyas Iyer

The Mumbai batter has recently not been included in India's Test squad as he was dropped midway during the England series due to his inconsistent performances. He has since then scored runs in Ranji Trophy final, Duleep Trophy and also Irani game, showing that he still has hunger and skills to play Test cricket.

Shreyas Iyer also has a good record at number six in Test cricket with an average of 43.20 in seven Tests. He also plays aggressive brand of cricket which makes him an ideal replacement of Rohit Sharma and has quite a lot of experience of playing under pressure in different formats for India.

Also, Shreyas' overall first-class record is brilliant with an average touching 50 and strike rate around 80 with 15 hundreds. Therefore, Shreyas Iyer is one of the leading candidates to replace Rohit in India's Test squad.