3 Players Who Can Replace Rohit Sharma In India’s Test Team
Published - 11 May 2025, 07:56 PM | Updated - 11 May 2025, 11:42 PM
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Rohit Sharma's retirement has opened up a spot in India's test team. In this article, we will look at three players who can replace Rohit Sharma in the team.
3 Players Who Can Replace Rohit Sharma In India’s Test Team
1. Abhimanyu Easwaran
The right-hander has been sweating it out in domestic cricket for a long period and was in reckoning for a place in the national team when India toured England and South Africa in 2021, but was overlooked.
A lot of water has flown under the bridge since then, and Easwaran has fallen behind in the pecking order with the likes of Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal being preferred over the experienced campaigner.
Having said that, with Rohit Sharma announcing his retirement from test cricket, it provides an opportunity for Eshwaran to stake his claim for a place in the test team as the backup opener.
Another reason for Easwaran's possible selection would be the lack of experience in India's current test team with the retirement of Rohit and uncertainty over Kohli's availability.
Although Easwaran is yet to make his international debut, the batter has a rich vein of experience in domestic cricket and has been a crucial part of India A for the last few years.
2. Karun Nair
Karun Nair, who last played for India in 2017, has had a sort of resurgence with a breakthrough domestic season in all three formats of the game for Vidarbha and would hope to replace Rohit in the series against England.
Interestingly, it was the final test of the five-match series against England in 2016 in Chennai where Karun scored a triple century and became only the second Indian to reach the milestone after Virender Sehwag.
The right-hander, who last played for Indian in 2017, was a part of the squad for the 2018 tour of England under Virat Kohli's captaincy.
Having said that, the only things that might go against Karun Nair in his bid to make a comeback into India's test setup after 2017 would be his performance in IPL 2025.
3. Devdutt Padikkal
Devdutt Padikkal has been a crucial part of the Indian test team since making his debut in the longest format of the game in 2024.
Padikkal can be a perfect replacement for Rohit Sharma, given his sound technique and his ability to bat anywhere in the batting order, which is what Rohit did as a test cricketer.
Padikkal, who was once praised for his elegant strokeplay during the stellar domestic season he had in 2019, had to wait for a long time to earn his maiden test call-up.
The left-hander's patience paid off as he was added to the test squad midway through the series against England in February last year and hasn't looked back since getting his test cap in Dharamsala.
Padikkal was a part of India's squad for the Tour of Australia and got an opportunity in the absence of Rohit Sharma during the first match of the series.
