The 7th edition of the T20 World Cup will be commencing in less than three months and yet again our beloved Indian cricket team is in an uncertain position to pick the best set of openers. The Indian cricket team has been in England since June 2021 as they lost the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand. It was an opportunity for the fans to watch cricket live.
Coming back to the opening conundrum of the Indian team, the Indian selection committee has brimmed the national team with a robust stack of 4-5 top-order batsmen, the team management along with skipper Virat Kohli is one of the candidates to open for India in the upcoming World T20. It’ll also be a great opportunity for one of the best cricket betting sites, ThisWin to predict the opening combination of the Indian team.
Although Virat Kohli had tentatively confirmed about him opening alongside his deputy Rohit Sharma, the other two frontline candidates- Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul have emerged as the number 1 and 2 Orange cap holders of the IPL 2021. Let’s check out the 3 possible opening combinations for the Indian team in the upcoming pinnacle event
#1 Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul
While Rohit Sharma’s place at the top is almost fixed, someone like KL Rahul seems to be the best fit for Rohit’s partner. Rahul’s ability to change gears instantaneously makes him a certainty to open the batting alongside Rohit Sharma. Rahul’s overall gameplay where he is a 360-degree batter also makes him the best to use the powerplay. Perhaps, also being technically well-equipped, KL Rahul has given a sweet headache to the Indian team management.
Now even as a collective pair, both Rohit and Rahul had started opening together for the first time in 2017, and in total, they have amassed 586 runs at an average of 45.07 from their overall 13 outings. Hence, the duo of Rohit and Rahul should be the chief opening option for team India to start in the 2021 World T20.
#2 Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan
While KL Rahul’s aggressive gameplay gives him the edge, at the same time, Shikhar Dhawan had often been criticized for his conservative batting. His recent outings for Delhi Capitals have given a different testament to the criticism against him as he smashed runs at a strike rate of 144.73 in IPL 2020. In terms of his overall gameplay, Dhawan also has various shots in his armory which will help him to milk runs easily in the middle passage of play, especially against the spinners.
Perhaps, even the left-right combo of Rohit and Dhawan is the most experience duo in international cricket as they have opened together in 52 innings in T20Is. With an average of 33.5, the pair have also accounted for four hundred plus opening stands along with seven fifty-plus partnerships.
#3 Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli
Well in their last T20I played by these two stalwarts, both of them while opening had made a solid partnership of 94 runs against England earlier this year. That partnership allowed the middle-order to flourish in its natural way. While Rohit Sharma, as usual, had scored a solid 34-ball 64, even Virat Kohli also came out all guns blazing as he smashed unbeaten 80* from 52 balls.
With both Virat and Rohit playing the most balls at the top, India can cast peppy and explosive batters like Ishan Kishan at number three who then collectively with the entire middle-order can indulge themselves in playing the attacking brand of cricket.