Starting well is one of the critical things for any team in the game of T20. What happens in the first six-over powerplay period almost decides the game for the team in the shortest format as there is significantly less time to get back on track for any side. Finding out who opens the batting for the IPL teams before the season is always a most discussed query.
IPL has now become the only domestic tournament where a chunk of 10 teams has featured for the competition.
Here is a little insight into the opening pairs for all ten teams.
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma – Ishan Kishan
Rohit Sharma, the skipper of Mumbai Indians, will step in with the fresh & aggressive blood of Ishan Kishan for the opening. Rohit is the 3rd highest run-getter in the history of IPL, while Ishan Kishan has experience of 60 matches, he hasn’t been that consistent throughout the whole tournament. They will look to give an aggressive start to Mumbai Indians in as many matches they will appear in together.
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad – Robin Uthappa
Ruturaj & Robin would probably come out to kick start the innings for Chennai Super Kings this season. After signing the contract with RCB, Faf Du Plessis had left the opening slot empty in CSK. In the last season, Ruturaj & Faf had opened for CSK, but this time Chennai only had the option of an opener in the form of Robin Uthappa. He had opened for KKR in a couple of seasons along with Gautam Gambhir, so that that experience will help him for the CSK.
Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul – Quinton de Kock
KL Rahul leading new franchise Lucknow Supergiants will start the new season with a high-quality strengthened squad. Gautam Gambhir, the mentor, had made a thunderous squad for LSG, but now it will be entirely upto KL Rahul’s captaincy. The South African Ace southpaw Quinton de Kock will partner him for the opening position. They would be very optimistic regarding their chance for the trophy with such a quality side.
Punjab Kings: Mayank Agrawal – Shikhar Dhawan
Mayank Agrawal, who is leading an IPL franchise for the first time, will have a massive responsibility on his shoulders. For the opening room, he will probably partner with Shikhar Dhawan, another Southpaw who is wholly filled with experience in the IPL. Shikhar and Mayank have played 100+ IPL matches, which should be the first factor of benefit for Punjab Kings in their presence.
Delhi Capitals: David Warner – Prithvi Shaw
The most crucial player coming from the side of Sunrisers Hyderabad will open with the young gun of India ‘Prithvi Shaw’. At the same time, David Warner holds the record for achieving the most orange caps in the Indian Premier League. Both of them can prove vital for Delhi Capital this season, as their on-field maneuvering will majorly contribute to DC’s fate for this season.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis – Virat Kohli
This will be the first time RCB will step into the field without Kohli’s leadership. Faf will be the new skipper, and as speculating his captaincy, he will keep Kohli with him for the opening position because the peak of Virat Kohli’s batting had been witnessed when he batted in the opening slot in 2016. He had struck 4 centuries in a solo season, a record itself. Hope he will show the same game for RCB this season. You can find the top records hold by Virat Kohli in IPL here.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Venkatesh Iyer – Ajinkya Rahane
It will be the most challenging season for Venkatesh Iyer as he batted at No 6 for India, and he has to shift the position for KKR suddenly. He will probably begin with Ajinkya Rahane, who has played his whole life as an opener in IPL for the franchises. This pair is almost fixed because Kolkata doesn’t have too many options for the openers in their squad. They will have a strong expectation from Ajinkya Rahane in this season.
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler – Devdutt Padikkal
The English wicket-keeper will remain in the same position as last season. But he will get a new companion in the face of Devdutt Padikkal. Devdutt had played 29 matches in IPL and scored 884 runs in it with an acceptable average of 31.6. Hopefully, the left-hand, right-hand combination will do something better for Rajasthan Royals this season. There could be a chance for Yashasvi Jaiswal in the opening, but Devdutt ticks all the requisites of the opening slot.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Aiden Markram – Rahul Tripathi
Rahul Tripathi and the South African emerging opener Aiden Markram will make a super tally together. Aiden had played brilliantly for SA in the recently held T20 world cup in 2021. Rahul Tripathi, who had done decent work for KKR last season, would still be clueless about his firing from Kolkata. SRH will look to groom these two youngsters in the leadership of Kane Williamson as their prospects for the team.
Gujarat Titans: Rahmanullah Gurbaz – Shubhman Gill
After the pull-out of Star opener Jason Roy from the 15th edition of IPL, Gujarat Titans had been stuck in a mediocre situation. They didn’t make a strong squad after the auction, and in spite, they got a big blow after the rule out of Roy. The equation states that Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the newly signed Afghan guy, will open the batting with the class Shubhman Gill. The Afghan pedigree had shown some glimpses of his batting in the T20 world cup, but he is still unexposed with the IPL conditions & atmosphere.
