IPL 2019: 4 players who should be promoted to open the innings

As the Indian Premier League is nearing, the franchises have started to ponder about what they need to squeeze out of their resources. The teams will look to make their sides as balanced as possible.

In an attempt to attain the above, the sides might experiment with their batting order so as get the right combination in place. We've observed that in the last season as well where Ambati Rayudu, Jos Buttler, Suryakumar Yadav were promoted to open the innings and they wreaked havoc to the opposition bowling lineups.

The most effective of them all was a couple of years ago when Kolkata Knight Riders made a golden move by promoting Sunil Narine to open the innings and what followed was very fruitful for them.

In the upcoming edition as well, these five players can be pushed up the batting order to fully utilize their capabilities.

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#4 Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan is one of the emerging Indian wicketkeeper-batsmen, who led India U-19 in the 2016 World Cup. He made his IPL debut in 2016 for Gujarat Lions under the leadership of Suresh Raina. After the exit of GL from the scheme of things, the youngster was scalped by Mumbai Indians for INR 6.2 crores at the mega-auction ahead of the 2018 season.

The left-hander has played 30 IPL matches and scored 594 runs at a strike rate of 137. He went on to score three half-centuries in the process.

The 20-year-old mostly batted in the middle order for Mumbai Indians and on various occasions, he slipped down the order to make way for the hard-hitters like Keiron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya as the situation demanded.

With the technique that Kishan has, he can surely make use of the powerplay and build his innings as an opener under lesser pressure while the big guns can operate in the middle.

#3 Marcus Stoinis

Stoinis made his IPL debut in 2016

The seam bowling all-rounder was acquired by the Royal Challengers Bangalore by trading their Indian batsman Mandeep Singh. Marcus Stoinis has shown a lot of potential, playing for Australia and his BBL team Melbourne Stars, but is yet to perform to his fullest in the IPL.

The Perth-born has played 19 IPL matches, where he scored 262 runs including a fifty against Delhi Capitals, playing for the Kings XI Punjab. He mostly batted at 6 or 7 although his lone 50 came when he batted right at the top.

In the ongoing Big Bash League, Stoinis has opened for Stars on numerous occasions and he returned with impressive numbers. The 29-year-old has scores of 43, 53, 70*, 34, 78* and looked solid whenever he got the opportunity to face the new ball.

To give justice to his talent, RCB must try him out at the top in the upcoming edition.

#2 Rishabh Pant

Pant was retained by DC ahead of the last season

The WK-batsman, who emerged as an under-19 talent for India, is one of the mainstays for Delhi Capitals in the IPL. Since the start of his career, Rishabh Pant has been playing in the middle-order, mostly at 4 or 5, and established himself as the backbone for underperforming Delhi-based franchise over the years.

In 38 matches so far, the 21-year-old has scored 1248 runs at an average of 35.66, striking at a devastating rate of 162. He went on to score eight half-centuries and slammed his maiden ton last season, scoring 128 against one of the best bowling attacks of Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Pant has been the most consistent player for his team and has soaked a lot of pressure at a very young age. The skills he displayed in his short career are not quite capitalized by DC as the southpaw never got an opportunity to face the majority of overs.

The Delhi boy definitely has the game to adapt at the top and with the inclusion of an experienced Colin Ingram to make the middle-order more solid, the youngster should be given at the top.

#1 Kane Williamson

Kane Williamson has been an under-rated T20 batsman over the years

From warming the benches for Sunrisers Hyderabad to winning the Orange Cap and leading his team to the finals, Kane Williamson saw an exponential rise to his IPL career. Previously, he managed to play a total of only 15 matches across three seasons under the captaincy of David Warner due to overseas restrictions in the play.

The New Zealand skipper deservingly got hold of the Orange Cap in the 2018 edition, scoring 735 runs at a strike rate of 142. He scored eight fifties in the process and unlike his style of batting, the 28-year-old smashed 28 sixes.

The calm head and a solid technique that he possesses, he should join David Warner at the top of the order to anchor the SRH innings while his partners can take the odd risk to accelerate. Having a cool as an ice character at the other end will only make things better for the entire batting lineup.