India’s Openers For 2024 T20 WC: India’s top order was once the best in the business. Their openers often finished games even before the opponents could process the carnage. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and at times KL Rahul were clinical opening the batting. But it was in the big games starting the Champions Trophy final in 2017 that the tide started changing. India’s openers floundered in every big game. The narrative remained the same in the 2022 T20 World Cup too.
What ails India’s openers?
India spoke about adopting a gung-ho approach leading up to the 2022 T20 World Cup. But their openers couldn’t walk the talk as they played far too conservatively for the team’s liking. India played out maiden overs in high-profile games showing no intention of taking the game on.
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Change in personnel but no change in approach:
The selectors looked at a new pair of openers for the T20 series against Sri Lanka. But the performances of both the openers in these games have raised more questions than answers. Both Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill showed little promise in the three games. Kishan at least looked to up the ante while Gill looked anachronistic in his approach.
The selectors will be keen to test a few other options before zeroing down on their first-choice openers for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
We look at the India’s Openers For 2024 T20 WC:
#6 Venkatesh Iyer
His career has been a rapid rollercoaster so far. Venkatesh Iyer powered KKR to the finals in IPL 2021 after the side had a dismal first half of the campaign. He soon broke into the Indian team. Iyer though was played in the lower middle order as a finisher. He did play a couple of decent knocks but he wasn’t given a long run. Iyer is someone who could beef the ball up the order. He can give the captain 2-3 overs every game. If he has a fine IPL 2023, Iyer will surely be back in the reckoning.
#5 Yashasvi Jaiswal
He is another left-hander who has worked his way through the IPL. Yashasvi Jaiswal was the player of the tournament in the 2020 U-19 World Cup. He soon represented the Rajasthan Royals in the same year. But his power hitting came a long way in the following season in 2021.
He matched Jos Buttler stroke for stroke sans the consistency this season at the top. Jaiswal has been scoring a truckload of runs in domestic cricket. He sure deserves a look for the national team.
#4 Prithvi Shaw
The call for Prithvi Shaw’s inclusion keeps growing louder with every single series. There is little clarity over his continued exclusion from the team. But what is clear is that there are very few Indian openers who could attack from ball one. Shaw has shown umpteen times in the IPL that he knows just one way of playing the game. He is equally aggressive against both pace and spin in the powerplay. On the slow low surfaces of the USA and the West Indies, Shaw’s game will be best suited.
#3 Ruturaj Gaikwad
He has been in prolific form in the domestic circuit. Ruturaj Gaikwad is the only one on this list who has won the orange cap. Gaikwad was in sensational form in IPL 2021 scoring over 600 runs. He is a fine accumulator of runs whose game is modelled on someone like Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli. This is one factor that has been held against Gaikwad. In a day and age where batters are expected to fire from ball one, Gaikwad has to find ways to reinvent himself.
#2 Ishan Kishan
His ODI double century against Bangladesh in the third ODI put him ahead of other contenders in the race. Kishan though couldn’t carry on his fine form in the T20I series against Sri Lanka. He started off in blazing fashion in the first T20I especially in the first over. But wickets at the other end curtailed his style. Kishan has a lot of work to do on his strike rotation. But his natural stroke-making ability will help him stay in the reckoning for longer.
#1 Rahul Tripathi
He is the quintessential modern-day opener. Rahul Tripathi has been a domestic workhorse. He though came in limelight after having a fruitful IPL season in 2017. Tripathi since then has gone on to play key roles for different franchises he has been part of. There are very few batters in T20Is who have a higher strike rate than Tripathi in the first 10 balls they have faced.
Tripathi showed he is a nimble-footed fearless batter who likes to transfer the pressure on the opposition. If Tripathi is picked as an opener it opens up another opportunity in the crowded middle order.
