Rohit Sharma has been one of the best Indian cricket players, particularly in white-ball cricket. Given time and circumstances, he has done very well for the team. Since he has now retired from Test and T20I formats, he is only involved in 50-over contests.
Recently, Rohit Sharma was removed as the Indian ODI team captain. The team is now under the captaincy of Shubman Gill. However, Rohit Sharma remains selected to open the innings in the mooted ODI series against Australia.
There is no confirmation regarding whether Rohit Sharma will be playing in the 2027 World Cup, but fans and cricket community do hope so. However, given that he is 38 years old, he might not feature for the Indian team for very long. If indeed he is not there for the World Cup, then these players could be opening the batting alongside Shubman Gill, who is captain.
Top 3 Replacements for Rohit Sharma as India’s ODI Opener
1. Yashasvi Jaiswal
Yashasvi Jaiswal has been making huge strides in the early part of his international career. He has some impressive stats in the 25 Tests and 23 T20Is that he has played. Jaiswal’s power hitting and aggressive batting style also gave him the biggest platform in the Indian Premier League.
Jaiswal has, however, arguably been denied opportunities in the 50-over format, having played just a single ODI. Most of the times, no plausible reasons have been cited for shying away from pushing a guy like Jaiswal, who holds a List A average of 52.62. This left-handed batter has been named in the ODI squad for the Australia series.
2. Ishan Kishan
An injury kept Ishan Kishan away from international cricket since 2023. That was the year when he was part of the Indian team that finished as runners-up in the ODI World Cup. Kishan is a left-hander being able to keep wickets; this would make him a very versatile candidate. Team mentor Gautam Gambhir has always favored a player who could perform dual roles within the team.
His ability to bat in the middle order, besides opening the innings, makes him the number-one alternative to the path that India took with Rohit Sharma.
3. Abhishek Sharma
Abhishek Sharma has so far played only T20 Internationals. He has been just brilliant in recent times. Abhishek played a shining role for India in the 2025 Asia Cup triumph, scoring 314 runs in seven matches at an incredible strike rate of 200. This left-hand bat would fit very nicely into the 50-over setup and, if the speedster is able to transform his T20 form into 50-over cricket as well, he could become a huge asset for the team.
Abhishek complements Gill a lot because the two have been playing age-group cricket for Punjab since U-12. That makes him a perfect pick to open with Gill.
