3 players India could try as openers instead of KL Rahul and Murali Vijay in the third Test

Team India suffered a humiliating defeat in the hands of England in the second test at The Lord's, thereby going down by 2-0 in the series.

The batting has been a serious issue for the No.1 test team on this tour with all batsmen barring Virat Kohli looking unsettled at the crease and struggling to get past the score of even 30.

The openers seem to be a huge matter of concern for the Indian team as none of Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay and KL Rahul have scored a fifty in an overseas Test match since January 2018. All of them look woefully out of form and it is just a matter of time before the team management swings the axe.

Tough times call for team India to think out of the box. It might not be a bad idea to push someone from the middle-order to open the innings as an experiment.

Let us take a look at the 3 players that India should choose to open the innings in the third Test.

#3 Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravi Ashwin has shown better technique than any of the Indian openers.

Out of all the batsmen, Ravichandran Ashwin has looked most settled at the crease after Virat Kohli. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder top-scored for India in both innings at The Lord's and is putting a price on his wicket.

One thing that has helped Ashwin survive is his ability to cover the line of the ball. He is showing great competence in reading the swing and is making movements going across to cover the out-swing. Ashwin has portrayed better technique than any of the openers so far on this tour.

Ashwin is considered to be a handy customer with the bat who has scored 2248 runs in 60 tests at an average of 30. Pushing Ashwin up could shield any of the specialist batsmen against the new ball and they could come down the order when the conditions ease out.

#2 Cheteshwar Pujara

Pujara has opened for India in the past and tasted success as well.

Cheteshwar Pujara is another good option that India could consider to open the innings in the third test at Nottingham. After spending a County Season with the local team Nottinghamshire in 2017, Pujara has experience of playing at that ground.

Being a technically solid batsman who has a resolute temperament, Pujara is best-equipped to combat Anderson and Broad early on in the innings. After being unfairly left out of the first test at Edgbaston, Pujara was run out by his skipper Virat Kohli in the first innings at The Lord's and fought 87 balls in the second before getting a peach from Broad.

It will be better for Pujara to walk in with no wickets on the board as he is invariably coming to bat very early in the innings due to the openers not doing their job. Pujara averages 116 as an opener from 4 tests scoring 348 runs and has a hundred and two fifties under his belt.

#1 Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli has to open and lead the charge for team India.

If nothing is working then it all comes down to Virat Kohli to open the innings and lead from the front. Arguably India's best batsman on the tour so far, Kohli looked a class apart in his innings of 149 at Edgbaston and impressed in the second test when the rest of the batting faltered.

Opening with Kohli would mean India will have positivity right from the word go which is something that the team is in dire need of. It will help India to start off on the right foot and set an example for the rest of the batting line-up.

While there is a risk of losing Kohli early, the pros clearly outweigh the cons and it is a risk worth taking as none of the openers have justified their place in the team so far. If Kohli bats an entire day in test cricket, there is nothing that can stop him from scoring a double-hundred.