India captain Rohit Sharma could reportedly miss the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year. Here are the options India could turn to if he does not make it.
According to reports over the last couple of days, Rohit could miss the first India-Australia Test starting on November 22 in Perth, due to personal reasons. If he does, the tourists will lose both their captain and an opening batter. What are the avenues they could explore to replace him?
Shuffle the batting order
India last played a Test match without Rohit Sharma in December 2022, during a two-match Test series in Bangladesh. On that occasion, both matches saw them use an opening combination of KL Rahul and Shubman Gill. Both players now fit into the team at different spots – No.5 and No.3 respectively.
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However, they have both had success opening the batting in Australia before. Rahul scored a gritty 110 in Adelaide during Virat Kohli's first Test as permanent captain, and Gill's 91 at the top set the stage for a famous win at the Gabba in 2021. Rahul's utility is also what makes him an attractive squad option, and that could be put to use here by moving him to the top of the order.
The other possibility is to move Gill to the top and Rahul to No.3, but one senses India would like to tinker as little as possible with the lineup. This of course would leave a vacancy at No.5, which opens up the chance for one of Sarfaraz Khan or Dhruv Jurel to find a spot in the playing XI.
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Draft in a new opener
When India travel to Australia, they are more or less certain to take a backup opener with them. At present, the first-choice appears to be Ruturaj Gaikwad, who travelled with the squad to South Africa in December 2023, but did not play. He was injured on the tour, and Bengal's Abhimanyu Easwaran then took his place.
It might be that both these players make it on the plane to Australia. But in case only one goes, Easwaran may have moved ahead of Gaikwad at this point. The Bengal man has scored four centuries in his last eight first-class innings, with three of them being scores in excess of 150. Furthermore, Gaikwad failed to impress in the Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy. A couple of strong showings in the Ranji Trophy could help him work his way back into the selectors' thoughts, though.
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There is, however, an issue with this course of action. Giving either one of Easwaran or Gaikwad a Test debut in Perth is likely to be a trial by fire in itself. Couple that with the fact that in all likelihood Yashasvi Jaiswal will open for the first time in Australia, and this suddenly appears fraught with a level of risk that India's selectors might not deem acceptable.
Recall Cheteshwar Pujara?
Perhaps the most left-field (and therefore unlikely) option for India would be to hand Cheteshwar Pujara a shock recall. Pujara has not played a Test match since the World Test Championship final last year, and India have, informally at least, moved on from him.
A No.3 batter by trade, he has opened for India on nine occasions with decent success. Pujara has also been a thorn in Australia's side in recent years, with his dogged, downright boring batting style often crucial in tiring out their bowlers. If India wanted both experience and minimal shuffling of the order, it could be an option available to them.
What about Rohit the captain?
While replacing Rohit the batter should and will be India's primary concern, they will also need to find someone to lead the team in his absence. A report from ESPNCricinfo suggests that Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah are the frontrunners for this role. Bumrah led India in a one-off Test against England in July 2022, and briefly took over the role against England in Dharamsala earlier this year when Rohit was off the field. He has also been named India's vice-captain for the upcoming home series against New Zealand.
Gill has only captained India in T20 cricket, in Zimbabwe earlier this year. However, he is reportedly being seen by the Indian team management as a potential long-term captain and taking over for one Test if Rohit misses out might be a way to give him a taste of leading a Test side.
In the aforementioned Bangladesh series in 2022, India turned to KL Rahul to captain the side in Rohit's absence, and he could be another choice as he will likely play in Australia too. Going beyond even these three, India also have a highly successful former Test captain in Virat Kohli in the ranks. It is unlikely to come to that, but the fact remains that there is no shortage of options to captain for one Test without Rohit.
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