With just over two years until the 2027 World Cup, Indian cricket faces its biggest selection shake-up in over a decade — finding successors to Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Between them, the two have scored over 25,000 ODI runs, smashed 83 hundreds and carried India’s batting for years.
But with talk of both being eased out after the Australia series in October, who are the contenders to fill their shoes?
Abhishek Sharma
Sharma has made a name with his blitzkrieg knocks for Sunrisers Hyderabad over the last few seasons. The southpaw from the Yuvraj Singh school of coaching has shown what a clean hitter he is but his List A statistics don’t show remarkable signs.
In 61 games, Sharma averages 35.33. His tally of 2014 runs comes with four hundreds, eight half centuries and a best knock of 170.
A head turner for sure but does he have enough to make a serious case for the opening slot given Shubman Gill and Yasashvi Jaiswal are already the top contenders?
Rajat Patidar
He won RCB their maiden IPL trophy after an 18-year wait.
If he earns the Virat Kohli slot at number three, he will be 34 by the time the World Cup arrives.
In 64 List A games, Patidar has an average of 37.47 and a tally of 2211 with a highest score of 158.
With four hundreds and 13 fifties, Patidar can add a bit of experience to the team by bringing a batting flair that makes him an ideal floater in the Indian batting line up which will feature K.L. Rahul and Shreyas Iyer.
Tilak Varma
Mumbai Indians’ star boy, Tilak Varma averages 46.90 in List A cricket with his tally of 1548 runs in 38 games coming with five tons and 9 half centuries.
A highest score of 156* to go with a healthy start to his T20I career means Tilak Varma is higher up on the list of selectors than most. Varma at just 23 has the years ahead of him to develop as a match winner for the coming years in this Gautam Gambhir coached young brigade.
Sai Sudharsan
A Test debut in England may not have done justice to Sai Sudharsan’s international debut but his habit of piling on runs at a steady pace makes him an ideal candidate at No.3 or even as an opener.
In List A cricket he has played 28 games and already has six tons and the same number of half centuries. His conversion rate gives him a sublime average of 60.69 with his tally of 1396 runs coming at a strike rate of 95.61.
Ishan Kishan
A powerhitter the size of a pocket dynamo, Kishan has a ODI double hundred to boost his CV. But his attitude will be more important than the runs he scored. Despite having an average of 42.40 and nearly 1000 runs in ODIs, Kishan will need to have a good domestic season to make a case.
His List A stats, 111 games, 3798 runs and an average of 38.75 comes with 6 tons and 19 fifties.
Riyan Parag
Gambhir knows what Parag is all about. Since he can roll his arm over with a bit of spin, it adds another facet to his game, but his List A numbers alone may not be enough to earn him a place in the Indian team.
Parag averages 41.30 in 50 games with a tally of 1735, a highest score of 174. Five hundreds and 8 fifties means Parag has a good CV to stake his claim.
Sanju Samson
In 16 ODIs, Samson has 510 runs, a highest score of 108 with an average of 56.66. In List A cricket, he has an average of 33.85, 3487 runs in 128 games with a best score of 212*.
Samson has a habit of being either too good or too bad and he will be 32 when the World Cup comes around.
While these are names of players who are not a permanent fixture in the Indian team, there are two ready made replacements for the Kohli slot. You can either have K.L. Rahul batting as an opener and Gill batting at 3 or you can flip the two around.