The 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) kicked off last month and has served up some excellent cricket. The tournament has added significance this season thanks to the T20 World Cup immediately following it afterwards.
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On April 30, India announced their squad for the global tournament, consisting of fifteen players as well as four travelling reserves. The squad will be led by Rohit Sharma, and there has been much discussion over the batting lineup India will choose to line up with.
Much of this will depend on which two players they select to open the innings, as this selection will also determine who can fit lower down in the order. Here, TSN takes a look at what the potential opening combinations could be for Team India.
There are three opening batters named in India’s squad for the tournament; Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal. But what are the pros and cons of each one?
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India’s most likely combination will see Yashasvi Jaiswal open with captain Rohit Sharma. The pair have batted together frequently of late, both in the T20 format as well as Test matches. With the explosive Jaiswal providing a left-handed option, he also performs the dual role of being able to take on left-arm pacers and spinners that are capable of tying Rohit down or dismissing him early.
On potentially bouncier wickets, Rohit’s ability against the short ball will also come in handy. The only downside of this combination is that both players have displayed a tendency to get out early, especially in this year’s IPL which could be something for the team management to consider.
Jaiswal’s form this year has largely been poor, apart from one spectacular century against Mumbai Indians. If his poor run continues, he could find himself dropped in favour of India going with a Rohit and Kohli combination at the top. The latter has been in fine touch for RCB, with doubts over his scoring rate slowly beginning to falter as well.
Again, there is a potential downside here. Both players are vulnerable to left-armers and this is an open invitation for opposition teams to give them a barrage of left-arm spin even in the Powerplay overs. Whether this is a risk India feel is worth taking remains to be seen.
The combination of Kohli and Jaiswal is extremely unlikely. Being the captain, Rohit Sharma will not be dropped even if his form is patchy. In case he suffers an injury or an illness, these two will not open together. If they do, they could be a superb combination, as they possess very similar strengths and weaknesses to the Rohit-Jaiswal pair, perhaps even minus the added risk of Rohit departing early on.
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Rahul is a content producer for The Sporting News’ India edition.
