India vs England, 1st T20I: India face opening concerns

With an injured Dhawan, and an out-of-favour Rahane, there now seems to be a certain degree of ambiguity over who will partner Rahul during the upcoming T20 series. The selectors have included Punjab batsman Mandeep Singh in the squad. On the face of it, it looks like Mandeep might well take over the mantle from Dhawan and Rahane. In fact, both Mandeep and Rahul have opened for India in this format against Zimbabwe last year. However, captain Kohli played his cards close to the chest and was not forthcoming on who the opening pair would be.

“There are all kinds of possibilities. In the IPL you don’t have many Indian players to play with because they are spread across franchises. But here you have the best of the lot as far Indian batsmen are concerned. You have to see who fits in where. There are lot of options, which is a very good thing. So, whatever creates the best balance for us as a side, you are going to go ahead with that,” Kohli said on the eve of the T20 series that begins at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur on Republic Day.

Conventional wisdom suggests that the think-tank will opt for the Rahul-Mandeep pair. Having said that, it may not be entirely surprising if captain Kohli indeed decides to stem the rot by joining Rahul, his RCB team-mate as his opening partner. It seems like a prudent option, and even tempting, if one may add. Going purely going on current form, Kohli is by far India’s most consistent batsman across all formats.

Buoyed by his incredible fitness levels, he has had a Bradmaneque run over the last three years. Going by that logic, it will be a tad comforting for the think-tank to see Kohli walking in with India’s score at 0/0, which would give the captain a free run at the full quota of 20 overs. This would enable him to either construct his innings or meticulously plan a heist — something he has managed to orchestrate with utmost nonchalance in the shorter formats of the game. The 28-year-old has opened in the past — during last year’s IPL, when he scored those mountain of runs for the RCB. One only needs to look at the havoc he had created while opening with Chris Gayle in a crucial IPL encounter against the Kings XI Punjab at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. His 50-ball 113 knocked the sails out of Punjab, helping Bangalore post a humongous 211 in just 15 overs, and thereby posting a comprehensive 82-run win. In doing so, he registered his fourth ton in a single edition of the IPL. Interestingly, Kohli had not scored any century in his first 180 T20 innings, before making these four centuries in the span of nine innings. And two of which came as an opener. This stat gives enough ammunition for Kohli’s promotion as a T20 opener. The Indian captain, was however, circumspect when asked if he would indeed don the role of an opener. “I have only opened once or maybe twice for India, but I have experience opening in the IPL. If the need arises then I could or I might not, depending on the kind of balance we have. At the moment, there are all kinds of possibilities,” he explained.

The Sachin factor

Kohli stressed on the word “balance”. This is perhaps the most overused term in press conferences, but it is also the most relevant when it comes to choosing the playing XI for an international fixture. Balance gives the side, the possibilities to experiment, and try out new options. In the 90s, when Sachin Tendulkar was asked to open the batting, it transformed him into a mean run-making machine in the ODIs. Years after Sachin’s retirement, this move has been hailed as a masterstroke. Would he have managed to stitch those majestic tons if he was batting down the order? Opening, gave Tendulkar the freedom to express himself, and extract maximum mileage from a 50-over game. Opening in ODIs added a new dimension to his game that was hitherto unknown. Years later, when Sourav Ganguly asked Virender Sehwag to open the innings in both formats (the move prompted on Zaheer Khan’s insistence), helped India attain those brisk starts upfront, thereby enabling the star-studded middle-order to play themselves in with relative ease.

Even if not for a long-term basis, unleashing Kohli as an opener against the Englishmen for these three T20s might just catch them off guard, and torment the already battered Englishmen. It will also give the much needed stability that India missed at the top of the order in the ODIs. His promotion could also help soothe the frayed nerves of an out-of-sorts Rahul. This talk (of Kohli’s promotion as an opener) has also gained currency ever since India’s in-form limited overs opener, Rohit Sharma, was out of the reckoning with a thigh injury. Like his captain, Rohit too has had an amazing and irresistible run, especially in the shorter formats. His unavailability had made the top-order fragile. For the moment though, we will have to wait and watch the Padma Shri winning Indian cricket captain next move at the Green Park. For all you know Kohli, might just pull out an ace from his sleeve.