Rohit Sharma pulled himself out from Test cricket; it was a sudden announcement from the former skipper. The right-handed batter served his team in this format as an opener for years. It will be a hard task for Ajit Agarkar, leading the selection committee, to find the right replacement to fill the vacant spot at the top of the line-up. Test cricket mostly relies on technique and patience, so BCCI needs to pick someone who has both elements in his style of play. Through this article, we'll try to discover 5 players who have the potential to carry the role Sharma had mastered. 

5 potential players BCCI can think about:

Sai Sudharsan

The batter from Chennai had displayed how to score a good amount of runs in T20 cricket without playing any crazy shots. Sudharsan was in flying form, making headlines with his copybook batting skills in IPL 2025 for Gujarat Titans (GT). He scored 5 half centuries for GT in 11 matches, claiming a total of 509 so far, including a highest score of 82. Shot selections and balance while playing a stroke made the left-handed batter more special. 

Abhimanyu Ishwaran

The Uttar Pradesh-born cricketer was very close to entering into the main Test squad when India played against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The right-handed batter proved his skills for the Bengal Ranji Trophy team and India B, grabbed a bag full of runs, and caught the team selectors' eyes. 2024 was the year when Ishwaran achieved multiple tons, which defined his skill and techniques over the game. He has a record of scoring 4 back-to-back centuries in domestic cricket. 

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Mayank Agarwal

A well-known Indian cricketer, who was once considered to be a great prospect for India, got through into the ODI colors and played multiple Test matches for India as well but was never able to live up to the height where he should be. At over 30, Agarwal showed his class again in the recent past. Last year, when he was playing for Karnataka, he scored multiple centuries, including 3 consecutive tons and five 50s in a row. The experienced batter can be considered as the replacement of Rohit Sharma. 

Ruturaj Gaikwad

Almost a similar career graph like Mayank Agarwal. Ruturaj played multiple ODIs and Tests for India but went out of the squad for his lack of consistency. Before ruling out IPL 2025 due to injury, he looked promising and scored two 50s for Chennai Super Kings. Before the IPL 2025, the form of Maharashtra showed his class by scoring 89 against Baroda.

Narayan Jagadeesan

The Tamil Nadu-born batter made headlines when Chennai Super Kings roped him in for IPL 2020-21 and later joined Kolkata Knight Riders. His technical batting abilities again and again attracted multiple franchises; he can be a good addition in a Test setup for his copybook batting style. He has an attractive domestic career record: a 47.50 batting average in first-class cricket after playing 52 matches and a 46.23 batting average against 64 List A matches.