The Indian cricket team’s strength has been their solid batting order, especially the opening pair. Be it Sachin-Sehwag, Rohit-Dhawan, or Sachin-Ganguly, there has been no shortage of talented opening batters for India. With solid batters like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill coming up the ranks, the Indian team’s future looks bright.
India’s Future Opening Pairs Across Formats
India needs to zero in on players that are capable of building a strong opening partnership. A solid opening partnership lays a strong platform for the batters to follow.
India’s Openers in Tests
With Rohit Sharma reaching the fag end of his career, the Indian team needs to find a reliable opening batter to partner Yashasvi Jaiswal. India might well push Shubman Gill to open the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal, as he used to bat as an opener when he started his Test career. KL Rahul has also shown his class as an opening batter, especially in foreign conditions. Keeping the future in mind, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill will be a solid opening pair for India in Tests.
India’s Openers in ODIs
Shubman Gill has established himself in ODI cricket with his consistent performances. While Rohit Sharma currently opens the batting with Shubman Gill in ODIs, it is not long that we will see Yashasvi Jaiswal claim that spot. Ruturaj Gaikwad is also another player who has been consistent as an opener in domestic cricket. We might see Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal being the preferred opening pair in ODIs, especially after the 2025 Champions Trophy.
India’s Openers in T20Is
India has recently played a lot of T20Is under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav. While Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma have been phenomenal as openers, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal might return as openers in the shortest format. The Indian cricket team has a lot of depth in T20I format, especially when it comes to opening options. Players like Ruturaj Gaikwad are also in contention, and a strong IPL season would push their case further.
Other Openers in Contention
While Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal are the most probable openers across formats for India in the future, talented batters like Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Sanju Samson will always be in the contention. A brilliant IPL season, Ranji season, or domestic white-ball season can see many more contenders come up.
Final Thoughts
The Indian team has always been blessed with exceptionally talented openers. With Rohit Sharma about to retire in a couple of years or earlier, team India is most probably looking at Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal as an all-format opening pair. Other batters will have to raise their game and show why they deserve to be in the Indian team as openers.