5 Indian openers in Test matches who disappeared after promising starts

Opening the batting is never an easy task in the game of cricket, irrespective of the formats. New balls, fresh pitch, and top bowlers make it an extremely tough battle for the batsmen who come in to bat at No.1 and No.2.

Though some started well, they failed to cope up with the continuous pressure and disappeared after some time. Only a selected few succeeded in the role and went on to become the legends of the game.

Indian cricket has produced quite a few talented and gifted opening batsmen. Players like Anshuman Gaekwad, Chetan Chauhan, Sunil Gavaskar, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Gautham Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, and Rohith Sharma scored a lot runs at the top for India in Tests and One Day Internationals.

On that note, let us take a look at the five Indian openers in Tests who disappeared from the international arena after promising starts.

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#5 Abhinav Mukund

England v India: 1st npower Test - Day Four

The 28-year-old Tamil Nadu opener made his debut for India in Test match when he was just 21. He was selected for the tour of West Indies where he played three Tests for India and scored 147 runs. He looked good but failed to make a big score.

He travelled to England then but struggled with the conditions. He managed 64 runs in two Tests and was dropped from the team. He disappeared for the next six years and was recalled in 2017 as a replacement for the injured Murali Vijay.

He played two Tests in 2017 and never got selected again. Mukund played most of his Tests away from home and was never allowed to settle in the team. Mukund has played seven Test matches for India so far and scored 325 runs.

With the emergence of Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul and Mayank Agrawal in the opening department, it looks highly unlikely that he will be called back into the Test team.

#4 Sadagoppan Ramesh

Sadagoppan Ramesh

Considered one of the most talented opening batsmen, Ramesh's Test match career started with a bang. In his first seven games for India, Ramesh scored five fifties and two brilliant hundreds.

Although Ramesh's footwork was minimal, he used to time the ball brilliantly. He represented India in only 19 Tests and 24 One-Day Internationals, between 1999 and 2001. Despite being the second highest run-getter for India in the tour of Sri Lanka in 2001, Ramesh was dropped from the team.

Though he was selected again to tour Australia in 2003/04, he wasn’t picked for any of the four Tests. Sadagoppan Ramesh finally retired from first-class cricket in 2008 with a batting average of 43.23.

#3 Shiv Sunder Das

Shiv Sunder Das

SS Das is another Indian opener who disappeared after a good start to his international career. A batsman with a solid technique, Shiv Sunder Das was tailor-made for the opening role. However, he lasted only 23 Tests and four One Day Internationals.

In 23 Test matches for India, Shiv Sunder Das scored 1326 runs at an average of almost 35, which included 9 fifties and two hundreds. Though he was good, he failed to convert his 50's into 100's and was inconsistent at times.

Also, the meteoric rise of Virender Sehwag did not help him either. Sehwag was promoted to open the batting in Tests and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Das' domestic career ended in 2013.

#2 Devang Gandhi

Devang Gandhi

Devang Gandhi was another one of those openers that India tried between 1999 and 2001. Gandhi made his Test match debut for India in 1999 against New Zealand at Mohali. He scored almost 200 runs in his first two Tests and looked really impressive.

However, it was the tour of Australia in 1999 that undid his great start. He struggled against the likes of Glenn McGrath and had no answer to the short stuff that Australian bowlers hurled at him.

Devang Gandhi's Test match career ended with just four games. He scored 204 runs at an average of 34 and was never to be seen again. Gandhi also played three ODIs for India and scored just 49 runs at an average of 16.33.

#1 Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra

One of the most successful openers in first-class cricket, Chopra failed to make it big in international cricket, despite a good start. In 10 Tests for India, Chopra scored 437 runs at a mediocre average of 23, which included two fifties.

He was solid against Australia in the away series and gave good starts along with Virender Sehwag. However, a poor series against Pakistan in 2004 followed by another poor show against Australia later that year at home ended Aakash Chopra's international career.

A brilliant batsman in the domestic cricket, Aakash Chopra finished his first-class career with 10839 runs at an average of 45.35, which included 29 hundreds and 53 fifties.