IPL 2019: Ranking the openers of each team

The auctions for the twelfth season of the biggest T20 league in the world are over and the teams are all set with their squads for the cricketing festival.

With doubts over the duration and venue of the next season - courtesy the elections in India and the World Cup - franchise owners did show a little reluctance in the timing of the auctions. But now that the auctions are done and dusted, the teams will have to cope up with whatever situations they are put in.

Over the years, most of the batting charts in the IPL have been dominated by the openers. The likes of Gayle, Warner, Sehwag and McCullum have all been very influential in taking the IPL to where it is now.

The openers have always been the key to success for teams over the years and the upcoming season is not going to be any different. Here we look at the opening combinations for each team and rank the teams accordingly:

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8. Royal Challengers Bangalore

The Bangalore based franchise, who are yet to win their maiden IPL title, have got a very well balanced side for the upcoming season. With most bases covered, one area where they are slightly vulnerable is the top order.

Releasing De Kock and McCullum meant that they were left with only Parthiv Patel as a specialist opener. Although Virat has shown that his credentials as an opener are unquestionable, the unavailability of a specialist opener might prove costly to them, if Parthiv does not keep his good form intact throughout the tournament.

Youngsters like Akshdeep Nath and Himmat Singh are good additions, but they are yet to make a mark in the IPL. As a result, RCB are in a situation where not only they are short of specialist openers, but also have a dearth in backups.

7. Kings XI Punjab

The team with most buys in the auctions for the next season, KXIP have a formidable yet explosive top order on paper. The Gayle-Rahul partnership worked wonders last season, but the magic of Gayle slowly waned as the tournament progressed. Rahul fought a lone battle for his team, but going forward, Rahul looks a pale shadow of himself with his current form or lack of it.

Karun Nair and Mayank Agarwal are other options who can be used at the top, but Mayank has always flattered to deceive in the IPL. His successful Test debut might give him confidence but his IPL form is yet to hit the peak even after so many years. Karun, on the other hand, has not batted at the top for a long time now.

Nicholas Pooran is another option, but he too is new to the IPL. Also looking at the love for Gayle by the team management, it seems tough for Pooran to get a game in place of the Jamaican marauder.

6. Kolkata Knight Riders

The Lynn-Narine combo has proven to be one of the most devastating opening pairs over the past couple of years. And a high probability is that the trend might continue this time too. But with the World Cup scheduled just after the IPL, the availability of Lynn for the full season is a big question mark. Also, Narine might not be as effective as he was last season, considering his weaknesses must have been found out by several teams.

Uthappa and Shubman are good backups to open the innings. Uthappa is a proven customer at the top while Shubman showed glimpses of his brilliance in the limited opportunities he got last year.

However, the presence of Uthappa and Gill at the top, or their absence in the middle order will make the middle order weaker, which Karthik and the management will be very much aware of.

5. Rajasthan Royals

After struggling to find the perfect combination at the top despite having so many openers, Rajasthan Royals finally found Buttler, who was exceptional once he got the chance to open. This time around, with the World Cup ahead, Buttler might have to leave midway, leaving the Royals in a spot of bother.

Rahane was not in great form last year and his inability to maintain a good strike rate after the powerplays was well exploited by other teams. Going into the next season, there is not enough limited overs cricket under Rahane's belt, which might be a matter of concern.

Sanju Samson, Manan Vohra and Rahul Tripathi are the ones who can be used as openers. Overall the prospect does not look too bleak, but at the same time, it does not look too bright either.

4. Sunrisers Hyderabad

Out of the four openers tried by SRH last season, three have been released (one of them was bought again) and the other one is not a regular starter for the team. The return of David Warner is a huge boost, but unlike previous seasons, he will not have a stable partner in the form of Shikhar Dhawan. Saha and Goswami failed to impress in the opportunities they got last season.

Bairstow and Guptill have been drafted in and there is a high probability that one of them will open with Warner. But that would mean sacrificing one among Williamson, the orange cap holder last season, and Shakib, one of their most experienced bowlers, or both. This will make the already vulnerable middle order weaker.

The SRH think tank will most probably go in with Saha as a partner for Warner, and hope that Saha performs the role of Dhawan to at least some extent.

3. Chennai Superkings

The most successful IPL team, the three-time champions CSK went into the auctions with just two slots left to fill. They were probably the only team which had all their bases covered even before the auctions.

The Watson-Rayudu combo wreaked havoc on oppositions, with both being equally dominating. And whenever the situation arose for Rayudu to bat in the middle, they had the Proteas captain to open the innings.

Faf showed his class with a heroic knock against SRH in the first qualifiers, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Watson and Rayudu were both contenders for the Orange Cap.

The major advantage for CSK is that they will not lose players for the World Cup. In case of injuries, they have backups in Dhruv Shorey, with an experience of just a couple of IPL matches, and Murali Vijay, who is terribly out of form in all formats of the game.

Hence CSK will hope all their openers stay injury free throughout the season, and if that happens, there is no stopping the yellow brigade in 2019 too.

2. Delhi Capitals

The 2018 squad for the Delhi based franchise had too many options to choose from for the opening combination. They finally found a solid yet destructive opener in Prithvi Shaw, who is touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket.

The trading of Dhawan might prove to be a masterstroke for Delhi Capitals since the India opener has been in terrific form in limited overs cricket off late and will provide much-needed stability to the top order.

Colin Munro, the man with the most T20 runs in 2018, might not get a chance to open in the presence of Shaw and Dhawan. But having someone like him as a backup opener is something every team would want. Like CSK, Delhi do not have to worry about the unavailability of players due to World Cup.

In case of injuries, they have Manjot Kalra, Shaw's partner in the U-19 World Cup, and the skipper Iyer himself, who started his career as an opener. Thus Delhi have one of the most promising opening combinations going into the tournament.

1. Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians are a team which boasts of having one of the finest openers in limited overs cricket in their ranks. Skipper Rohit Sharma has been the flagbearer for Mumbai Indians in IPL for quite sometime now.

Despite having enormous success as an opener in international cricket, Rohit has batted in the middle order for MI on most occasions. They are a side with the most options for opening the batting, with each of them more devastating than the other.

They had Evin Lewis open with young Ishan Kishan last season, which worked pretty well, and then Suryakumar was tried at the top with Lewis, which yielded even better results. Now with Quinton in the side, they have the problem of plenty this time around.

A Rohit-Quinton combination is well on the cards, and if that happens, it will be a treat to watch two of the best openers in world cricket at the moment bat together.