How have the Indian openers fared in IPL?

This morning as I was browsing through, I read one interesting topic in Wisden. They have rated the Indian openers in the ongoing IPL. Rohit Sharma, Prithvi Shaw, Rahul, Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Shikhar Dhawan & Ishan Kishan were all analysed. It got me into thinking. None of the above mentioned openers has fared well in the IPL. It is a serious problem for India because the bowling in the World T20 is bound to be much higher and that too in Australia. How have the Indian openers fared in IPL? Let me analyse

Rohit Sharma

I will start with India’s first choice opener Rohit Sharma. 200 runs in 12 games. By Rohit’s standards, these are paltry returns. He himself will be the first person to admit that he did do justice to his position as the captain and opener for Mumbai Indians. He struggled with timing right from the first game. Neither was he able to play aggressively at the top nor was he able to play the anchor role. This is a cause for concern, surely but how will this have an impact on Rohit during the World Cup?

I think that Rohit will hold himself well during the World Cup.

First, the World Cup will be in Australia. Rohit generally likes bounce. There is no one in India who plays the pull shot better than Rohit. In Australia, he will certainly get this rhythm and will be able to contribute significantly provided he plays positively right from the beginning. This is India’s problem usually because until they are pushed to the wall, India will not start positively but are content in scoring less runs without losing too many wickets.

Rahul

Rahul was the most successful of all the openers in the IPL. It includes two centuries. Rahul has always been a good performer in the IPL. However, I once again want to repeat what I have often said that Rahul is not an opener. His best position is in the middle order. Either number 5 or 6. He is a destructive player whose full potential will only be realised when he bats lower down the order rather than as an opener. Whenever he opens, he is undecided how to bat. Be it Test match cricket or limited overs. Unfortunately, the people who matter is yet to realise that Rahul is not an opener.

Prithvi Shaw

Prithvi Shaw has had a reasonable tournament so far. More than 250 runs at a healthy strike rate and a decent average. However, he seems to be happy with a quick 30 or 40 scored at a breakneck speed and eventually plays one shot too many and gets out. Perhaps, that is the role he has been given in Delhi Capitals but when he plays for India, he will be expected to do much of the same what he is doing now and a bit more. In the sense, he will be expected to score 80s & 90s thereby utilising most of the 20 overs. The one problem is that his experience of the Australian conditions is not a happy one. Will it have an effect on Shaw? It may but one calming feeling is that this is a completely different format. This is the format that Prithvi Shaw enjoys.

Ruturaj Gaikwad

Gaikwad had a fabulous IPL in 2021. He was among the top two run scorers in that event by scoring more than 600 runs. He alongwith Faf were instrumental in Chennai Super Kings winning the last year’s tournament. Yet, this year, he has found the going tough. Just like some new cricketer who after he had a great first year, the opposition prepares a plan, Gaikwad’s game has been studied by the opponents. However, I do not think that he has the game to succeed in Australia at the moment. He is young with age on his side. The board must give players like him a lot of chances during the A tours to various countries.

Ishan Kishan

The most expensive buy in the IPL. Has he justified the money spent on him? Absolutely not. Did he try his best? Ofcourse, he did but it did not help him score loads of runs. Having said that, he batted really well when he first played for the country. However, in a squad of 15 players with Pant a shoo-in, Ishan is fighting for a spot with Dinesh Karthik for the 2^nd keeper. It really is a tough competition because Karthik is in tremendous hitting form for RCB.

If the selectors choose both Rahul & Prithvi Shaw, I do not see a reason for Ishan to be in the squad because India will then require a finisher and Karthik suits this requirement perfectly.

Shikhar Dhawan

The old warhorse is quite flamboyant when it comes to IPL but he lost his spot in the squad longtime ago. The Indian team have moved on from Dhawan. I think that the selectors must not go back to Dhawan because there are quite a few contenders for the opening spot.