Aakash Chopra maps out India's new T20I openers as new era begins post-Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma retirement

Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator, Aakash Chopra, has shared his analysis on India's T20I team composition after the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from the format. Chopra emphasized the need to identify new openers for the Indian cricket team as soon as possible.

The cricket pundit further listed potential candidates, including Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Abhishek Sharma, for the opening spots in the Indian team. However, Chopra didn’t pick Sanju Samson in his probables to replace either Rohit or Kohli in the T20I team.

Who will open for India in T20Is after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's retirement? Aakash Chopra suggests openers

The commentator further suggested that he doesn't see Samson fitting into the opener's role currently, despite being part of India’s ICC T20 World Cup 2024 winning campaign. Notably, Samson is also part of India’s squad for the upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe, starting on July 6.

Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel: “Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have both left. If both have gone, it means you will search for openers. So, who are all the options available to you - Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Abhishek Sharma. I am not keeping Sanju Samson in it at the moment because I am not seeing him as an opener.”

Furthermore, Chopra highlighted the importance of finalizing two out of these four players initially before eventually settling on three players for Team India in T20I cricket. He noted that Yashasvi could be prioritized first due to being part of India’s triumphant T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, despite not playing a single match in the tournament in the USA or West Indies.

Aakash Chopra advocates for fresh faces over Sanju Samson as T20I openers

Then, the cricket pundit mentioned that Gaikwad would be the top option given his impressive performance in the last T20I series against Australia. Gill and Abhishek rounded out the options, forming the remaining part of Chopra's suggested equation for India’s T20I team selection.

Chopra added, “You will have to finalize three among these four eventually but before that, you will have to decide which two to play. If we go based on the pecking order, Yashasvi Jaiswal deserves it first because he has come after winning the World Cup. He didn't play but he won. Then Ruturaj Gaikwad because he played very well in the last T20I series against Australia. Then Shubman Gill and then Abhishek Sharma. The equation should be something like that.”

Notably, Rohit and Kohli had announced their retirement from T20I cricket after winning the T20 World Cup 2024 in Barbados on June 29. Apart from the batting stalwarts, Ravindra Jadeja also retired from T20I cricket after the T20 World Cup 2024 triumph, so three spots are open to fill in by the young guns in the Indian cricket team in the shorter format of the game.

On the other hand, Gill already confirmed that he and Abhishek will open for India in the first T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare, and Gaikwad will play at No. 3, which hints that Yashavi might have to sit out even when he joins the team in Harare.