3 players who can replace Rohit Sharma as India’s ODI opener

Rohit Sharma has been one of India’s finest cricket over the years, especially in white-ball cricket. He has contributed quite splendidly to the team over the span of his international career. Recently retired from Tests and T20Is, Rohit is only active in the 50-over format now.

He was recently removed as the full-time captain of the ODI team, with Shubman Gill being named as his successor. Nonetheless, Rohit was selected for the upcoming ODI series against Australia as an opener.

There is no clarification regarding whether Rohit will play the 2027 World Cup or not. His supporters and the cricket fraternity would love to see him at the mega event. However, Rohit, now 38, might not remain in India’s plan for that long. In case he decides to hang his boots, the below-mentioned names could be India’s option to open the innings alongside skipper Gill.

3 players who can replace Rohit Sharma as India’s ODI opener

3. Yashasvi Jaiswal

Yashasvi Jaiswal has gone from strength to strength in his initial phase of his international career. He has phenomenal numbers in the 25 Tests and 23 T20Is he has played so far. He has also ignited the Indian Premier League with his explosive stroke play. However, the management has not considered Jaiswal in the 50-over format as he has played only one ODI so far.

A lot of the times, there has been no valid justification provided for not pushing a player like Jaiswal’s case who possesses a List A average of 52.62. The left-handed batter has been picked in the ODI squad for the Australia series.

2. Abhishek Sharma

Abhishek Sharma has only featured in T20Is till now. He has been in explosive form of late. Abhishek recently starred in India’s title-winning Asia Cup 2025 campaig, registering 314 runs in seven matches at an outstanding strike rate of 200.

The southpaw could very well be a part of the 50-over setup, and if he could transform his T20 exploits in the 50-over format, then he will become an even more valuable asset for the team. Abhishek also tunes in well with Gill since the two have been playing age-group cricket for Punjab since the U-12 days. This makes him an ideal candidate to partner Gill at the top.

1. Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan has last featured for the national setup in 2023. Coming to ODIs, he last donned the Blues at the 2023 installment of the World Cup. However, he played only a couple of games in the tournament in which the Rohit-led unit emerged as runners-up. Kishan made his return to the BCCI contracts after being removed from the retainership list in early 2024.

One plus-point for Kishan is that he doubles up as a wicketkeeper-batter and bats left handed. Gautam Gambhir as head coach usually prefers multi-dimensional players who can ply their trade in multiple aspects as compared to only one. He is widely-regarded as a versatile batter in terms of batting position too. This could work in his favour and make him a potential replacement for Rohit Sharma.