4 Indians who might replace Rohit Sharma if he gets sacked as white-ball captain

Regular Indian skipper Rohit Sharma’s leadership ability in white-ball cricket is under the scanner following recent debacles in international cricket. Although the 35-year-old had played a brave knock of unbeaten 51 runs off 28 balls despite having an injury in the left thumb. But it couldn’t save the men in blue from an embarrassing series defeat against Bangladesh in the three-match bilateral white-ball series.

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There have been a lot of discussions in the Indian cricketing fraternity since the Indian team faced a 10-wicket defeat against England in the second semi-final of the 20-20 World Cup 2022. Some of cricket experts have also suggested that the Indian cricket Board should think of the split captaincy across the different formats of the game.

So, there are also discussions for the possible names who can replace Rohit Sharma for the role of skipper in limited-overs cricket. With said that, here we’ll have a look at four players who might replace the Mumbai veteran as the national team’s skipper in ODI cricket.

Shreyas Iyer

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The 28-year-old Mumbai batter is enjoying a brilliant run of form with the bat in the last couple of ODI appearances for the Indian team. Iyer has played 38 ODIs for the national team of India. In the 34 innings of these appearances, he has scored 1534 runs with an average of 49.48 having two centuries and 14 half-centuries to his name.

Talking about his captaincy skills, the right-hander had led the Delhi-based franchise in the Indian T20 League. He produced some brilliant results for his team. So, the management might count on him for leading the team in the ODI format if Rohit Sharma quits the captaincy.

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Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya has led the national team of India in the T20 internationals. He is also in contention for the captaincy of the team in the fifty-over format. But his fitness might come up as a headache for the Indian team as it would impact his regular availability in the team.

But in a good piece of news, he is actively playing for the Indian team without sustaining any injury for the last year. So, he could be the successor of Mumbai teammate Rohit Sharma in the 50-over format following the conclusion of the ODI World Cup 2023.

Rishabh Pant

The Delhi wicketkeeper-batter led the Indian team earlier this year in the five-match home T20I series against South Africa. Following two consecutive defeats in the first two T20Is, the men in blue made a comeback in his leadership and managed to level the series with a score line of 2-2.

Although Rishabh Pant is currently in the controversial headlines of social media after his alleged ‘arrogant’ conversation with senior cricket analyst and commentator Harsha Bhogle. But keeping that aside, Pant might prove himself a good contender for the captaincy of the Indian team in ODI cricket after next year’s World Cup.

KL Rahul

The senior wicketkeeper-batter is currently serving as the deputy of Rohit Sharma in ODI cricket. He recently led team India during the second of the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh. It happened when Rohit had to go to the hospital for scans following an injury in his left thumb while attempting a catch in the slip.

Being a vice-captain, the 30-year-old Karnataka batter might be a perfect replacement for Rohit Sharma in white-ball cricket. The management might name him as the skipper if Rohit steps down from the role.