Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli played pivotal roles in India's triumph at the 2024 T20 World Cup, ending an 11-year wait for the side's ICC title. Following India's victory over South Africa in the final held in Barbados on June 29, both legends announced their retirement from T20Is. Rohit concluded his illustrious career as the leading run-scorer in T20 Internationals, while Kohli retired holding the record for the most runs by any player in T20 World Cup history.

With the retirement of these stalwarts, India has turned its focus to preparing for the next T20 World Cup, set to take place in two years' time. The 10th edition of the tournament will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, and despite the ample time remaining, discussions are already underway about potential replacements for Rohit and Kohli.

The Indian cricketing fraternity is abuzz with speculation as the team looks to build on the legacy left by two of its greatest players. Earlier this month, the BCCI announced Suryakumar Yadav as the side's new T20I captain, with Shubman Gill being named his deputy. During the Zimbabwe tour that took place after the T20 World Cup, there were hints over who could be the immediate successor for Rohit and Kohli; Gill opened the batting alongside Abhishek Sharma at first, but the arrival of Yashasvi Jaiswal mid-way through the series meant Sharma was pushed to no.3.

Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik spoke about the potential replacements for Rohit and Kohli and named four players who can fill their places, keeping in mind the next T20 World Cup.

“First of all, they (Rohit and Kohli) are very hard to replace, but in the XI, I do think there are four choices at the moment. There’s Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, and Shubman Gill,” Karthik told Cricbuzz.

“I think Yashasvi Jaiswal will definitely be starting in the XI in T20I cricket,” he added.

Jaiswal has been one of the mainstays in the T20I side for many months, and was also a part of the T20 World Cup-winning squad. The young opener didn't, however, play a match throughout the tournament as Rohit and Kohli were the first-choice openers for the side.

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhishek Sharma, meanwhile, had excellent outings against Zimbabwe in the T20I series but were sidelined for the upcoming three-match series against Sri Lanka, which also marks the beginning of Gautam Gambhir's tenure as head coach. Tilak Varma, on the other hand, has made sporadic appearances for India in T20Is but wasn't the part of the squad against Sri Lanka, too.