3 Indian Players Who Can Be A Threat To Rohit Sharma As Indian Opener Across All 3 Formats

Rohit Sharma and Co are currently gearing up for ICC T20 World Cup 2022 which is set to begin on October 16. The Men in Blue will aim to make amends for their dismal show in the last year’s T20 World Cup tournament- suffering a first-round exit.

Rohit Sharma will not only be marshalling his troops, but the batting dynamo will also shoulder clinical responsibilities as an opener. With a heavy workload expected, Sharma has a lot of deliverables as a leader and a poor patch can mean another batsman can prowl on the openers spot. Let’s talk about 3 players who can be a threat to Rohit Sharma as India’s opener.

3 Indian Players Who Can Be A Threat To Rohit Sharma As Indian Opener Across All 3 Formats

Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson is another player who is touted as a favourite to replace Rohit Sharma. In the ongoing ODI series against South Africa, the wicketkeeper-batsman has been consistent with the willow. The 27-year-old scored a blistering 63 balls 86 in the 1st ODI albeit in a losing cause, but then showed poise to score a steady 36 balls 30 and help the Men in Blue win the contest and level terms.

Samson made his T20I debut long back in 2015 but due to inconsistent performances and others grabbing opportunities, and hence could not play enough games. In 15 T20Is so far, he has amassed 296 runs at an average of 21.14. In 7 ODIs, he has slammed 176 runs at an average of 44.0 and 1 fifty.

Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan is an emerging wicketkeeper-batsman and opener for the Indian team. He could not grab a spot in T20 World Cup 2022 but was part of the last edition. He has played 19 T20I games so far and slammed 543 runs at an average of 30.16.

Ruturaj Gaikwad

Ruturaj Gaikwad has been a revelation in the domestic circuit and is a hot candidate to replace Rohit Sharma as the opener after ICC T20 World Cup 2022. After his impressive performance in the last two IPL seasons, Gaikwad has proved to selectors that he can do justice to the role of an opener.

He has played 9 T20Is so far, in which he mustered 135 runs at an average of 16.87 and a strike rate of 123+. The right-handed batsman has also hit 1 fifty in T20Is.