Rohit Sharma has bid farewell to the shortest format of the game after leading India to their second T20 World Cup triumph. The ‘Hitman’ brought down the curtain in a grand fashion as the Men in Blue ended their 11-year-long ICC trophy drought by defeating South Africa by seven runs in a thrilling final.
Rohit’s announcement came at the post-final press conference, shortly after his teammate Virat Kohli also announced his retirement from T20I. The legendary duo of Indian cricket will now focus on the ODI and Test formats, and the void left by them will not be easily filled.
Leading the team from the front as a batter and captain over the years, Rohit has piled up several records in the 20-over format. The veteran opener is currently the all-time highest run-scorer with 4231 runs in 159 matches including a record five centuries. Although it will be difficult to find a suitable replacement for him, the Indian management has created a good bench strength.
Here are three players who could replace Rohit Sharma in T20Is:
1. Abhishek Sharma
Rohit Sharma established a name for himself as one of the most dangerous batters in the limited-overs format. If India want someone who can retain this tag, then Abhishek would be the ideal candidate. IPL 2024 showed what the future of T20 cricket could look like, and the southpaw was one of the professors who explained it.
Playing as an opener for finalists Sunrisers Hyderabad, the Punjab-born did some ruthless hitting right from the start of an innings. He broke several batting records in the tournament along with Travis Head. From 16 matches, the 23-year-old accumulated 484 runs at an impressive strike rate of 204.22, including three quick-fire half-centuries.
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2. Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill is likely to be the first choice in the category. The right-hander failed to cement his place in the Indian T20 squad following Yashasvi Jaiswal’s brilliant form and slightly more promising performances. However, now that Rohit has vacated his place, Gill may return to the team and the management may consider him as a future captain in the limiter-overs cricket.
Notably, Gill was the captain of Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024 and although his captaincy was not great, he performed decently with the bat. He will also lead India in their upcoming tour of Zimbabwe, where they will play a five-match series against the African nation. The 24-year-old has played 14 T20 matches so far, scoring 335 runs at a strike rate of 147.58, including a century.
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3. Ruturaj Gaikwad
Swashbuckling opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad has played 19 T20I matches for India so far and has scored 500 runs at an average of 35.71 and a strike rate of 140.06. He has not been consistent for the national team, but is definitely a strong contender for the role given his solid performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and a leadership role with the super-successful Chennai Super Kings franchise.
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Gaikwad did not let the pressure affect his batting in his first assignment as captain of the five-time champions. He led the team from the front and finished as the second-highest run-getter in the tournament with 583 runs in 14 matches at an average of 53.00.
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