4 batsmen who can fulfil the opening duties for India in the T20I series against England

Indian cricket team will be touring England in about two weeks of time for three T20Is, three ODIs, and five Tests. India will be starting their campaign in England from 3rd of July with a T20I match at Old Trafford in Manchester. The Men in Blue would be hoping to end their jinx in England and would hope for an improved performance this year.

With the T20I series against England just two weeks away, the Indian team management would be more or less looking forward to churning out the best possible combination of playing 11 from their squad. With a lot of players in the mix for the opening slot, it remains the area of discussion for the Indian team.

Thus, let us look at four potential candidates from the Indian T20I squad who can fulfill the opening duties for India in the T20I series against England.

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#1 KL Rahul

KL Rahul has been most under-rated batsman when it comes to T20I format

KL Rahul, a right-handed prodigy from Karnataka, is one of the very few Indian players who is reputed to play all the three forms of the game equally well. With consistency levels on is side, Rahul proves to be a reliable option for the Indian team in all the three formats, if not all, then surely in Tests and T20Is.

Rahul set the world on fire when he smacked the fastest ever fifty in the history of IPL. His IPL performances are the proof that he is no ordinary player in T20Is. While opening the innings for KXIP in IPL this year, Rahul scored 659 runs at an average of 54.91 and a strike-rate of 158.41, which include six fifties.

With a range of shots in his armoury and that extra bit of timing, Rahul boasts to be a perfect opening material, especially in T20Is. Hence, cometh the T20I series in England, Rahul can well be pushed up the order to open the innings for India.

Having played 15 T20Is, KL Rahul has amassed 500 runs at an astonishing average of 45.45 and a strike-rate of 146.63 which also includes three fifties and a solitary hundred.

#2 Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar presumes to be the most obvious choice as an opener

Shikhar Dhawan has been in red-hot form. His carefree attitude and his explosive off-side shots are a treat to watch. He proves to be one of the most prominent openers who knows his game and adapts to a situation without any fuss, especially in the limited overs format. In addition to that, Dhawan being a left-hander, adds variety to the Indian batting line-up which makes him the perfect choice as an opener in all the formats of the game.

Dhawan has established himself as the regular opener for the Indian team. Thus, with the form on his side, Dhawan is expected to open the innings for India in the T20I series against England.

From 36 matches that he played for India in T20Is, Dhawan has scored 884 runs at an average of 26.79 and a strike-rate of 128.49 which include six fifties.

#3 Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma has been struggling to get

form

for quite a time now

Another player who has paired exceptionally well in the limited overs format with Shikhar Dhawan is Rohit Sharma, who is one of the very few batsmen to score two centuries in T20Is. On his day, Rohit can tear any opposition apart which is the reason why he is the most dangerous opener in the limited format of the game, especially in T20Is.

Although Rohit has been struggling in T20Is for past few months, he was and is the most effective opener for India in the shortest format of the game. Given his fantastic strokeplay and upright timing when on song, he can prove to be quite deadly for the opponents.

Rohit has a good T20I record on his side. In 79 T20I matches that he played, amassing 1852 runs at an average of 30.87 and a strike-rate of 135.78, Rohit is second highest run-scorer for India in T20Is.

#4 Virat Kohli

Virat has

opener

for India in T20Is in the past

One man who automatically features on the list is Virat Kohli. The Indian captain is arguably the best batsman in the world across all formats. Kohli has already opened the innings for India before in T20Is and commendably so.

Kohli has dealt with swing bowling well, which is late and difficult to pick, but still less abrupt than seam bowling, which is almost unnatural and catches you off-guard. Hence, with England T20I series coming up next, Kohli might open the innings for the Indian team as he seems perfectly fit with swing bowling.

The Indian captain has so far starred in 57 T20I matches and has scored 1983 runs at a brilliant average of 50.85 and a decent strike rate of 137.33. In addition to that, Kohli is the highest run-scorer for India in T20I cricket.