IPL 2019: 4 teams that could change their opening pair

The opening pair of each team is a vital cog in the functioning of the side throughout a season. Last season, many bids went for openers and few of them lived up to the price tag while others turned out to be disappointments. Most teams got runs from their middle order or their number three and four batsmen, while teams like Kings XI Punjab depended solely on their openers.

With the auction scheduled to take place and the trades already starting to take place, let's take a look at 5 teams which may have to change their opening combination for the IPL 2019 season.

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#1 Royal Challengers Bangalore

The RCB spent the most money in last year's auction and had a very good squad on paper. In reality, though, the performances didn't come and it was mostly up to Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers to do the bulk of the scoring while Umesh Yadav made a few contributions with the ball.

Their expensive opening pair of Brendon McCullum and Quinton De Kock didn't show up last season with the Kiwi collecting 127 runs and De Kock scoring 201 runs.

Virat Kohli and team

De Kock was released by the Royal Challengers and was roped in by the Mumbai Indians who too didn't get many runs from their opening pair last season. This indicates that the management is willing to make the changes for the next season and hopefully, players like Manan Vohra who was warming the bench last time around will get chances to play.

With not much money left in their purse, RCB must be careful as to who they plan to buy in the auction.

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#2 Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians had many star players last season but not all of them turned out to be the performers that the team expected them to be. Evin Lewis was signed amidst high hopes that he and Rohit Sharma could notch up some big runs but the plan failed in the first match itself when Lewis got out without scoring and Rohit got out for 15.

Rohit demoted himself to number 4 and let Suryakumar Yadav, who was a revelation in that role, open the batting and the explosive Ishan Kishan to play at number 3.

While Suryakumar Yadav impressed, both Rohit and Evin Lewis were inconsistent, though the former appears to have regained his form on national duty. Mumbai have made a statement by signing De Kock from the RCB: that they are willing to change the order to triumph next season and it will be interesting to see where Rohit will bat and what that means for the other players.

#3 Delhi Daredevils

Delhi Daredevils finished at the bottom of the pile yet again as the Gautam Gambhir led side failed to click in the first half. Gambhir demoted himself to the dressing room and Shreyas Iyer led the team as they gave a few valiant performances towards the end but they weren't able to save their campaign. They had few of the best international batsmen in the world like Colin Munro and Jason Roy but neither of them made a lasting impact.

Prithvi Shaw

Prithvi Shaw's entrance was welcoming and the side will hope that this season, his potential can be used and that he can provide stability up top. They have already started to move their pieces for the next season and traded Vijay Shankar, Shahbaz Nadeem and Abhishek Sharma to Sunrisers Hyderabad for the swashbuckling opener Shikhar Dhawan. It'll be interesting to see who Dhawan will open the batting with and where Rishabh Pant will bat.

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#4 Sunrisers Hyderabad

The Sunrisers Hyderabad were one of the most impressive sides last season with captain Kane Williamson leading from the front with 735 runs, which won him the Orange Cap.

With David Warner ruled out following a ban due to his involvement in a ball-tampering incident, the experienced Kiwi was given the captaincy and he responded with some style.

Shikhar Dhawan was decent with the bat, though the side lacked a second opener. Wriddhiman Saha, Alex Hales, and Shreevats Goswami were tried out with Hales being the better of the three.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Dhawan scored 497 runs while the other batsmen with the exception of Williamson didn't manage much. One can say that their success was based more on their bowling which was quite impressive than their batting.

With Dhawan traded to Delhi for Vijay Shankar, Shahbaz Nadeem, and Abhishek Sharma, the Sunrisers have begun their chopping and changing for the upcoming season. With Warner set to return, it'll be interesting to see who bats where and which players will they go for at the auction.