IPL history : 9 dream opening combinations we never got to see

The Indian Premier League's inception fulfilled the desires of a lot of ardent cricket fans who wanted to watch their favorite cricketers from separate nations play together for the same team.

After the initiation of the IPL, we have seen some dream pairings like Sachin Tendulkar/ Ricky Ponting (Mumbai Indians), Sourav Ganguly/ Ricky Ponting (Kolkata Knight Riders), VVS Laxman/ Mahela Jayawardene (Kochi Tuskers Kerala), Virat Kohli/ AB de Villiers (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Virender Sehwag /David Warner (Delhi Capitals) and many more bat together and entertain the fans.

However, not all dream batting pairs came to fruition in the league and here are the 9 dream opening combinations we never got to see in the 11 years of the IPL:

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#9 Virat Kohli and Hashim Amla

It is disheartening to see Hashim Amla going unsold in the Indian Premier League

Two of the most technically sound batsmen in world cricket, Virat Kohli and Hashim Amla were a part of IPL in 2016 and 2017 and had played for different IPL teams. While Virat Kohli a constant in the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise was leading the side, Hashim Amla made his debut in the league in 2016 as a replacement for Shaun Marsh in Kings XI Punjab.

Both scored a combined total of 6 centuries in those two seasons but sadly after 2017 we never got to see Hashim Amla participate in the league.

Hashim Amla and Virat Kohli belong to the rare commodity of batsmen who are technically sound as well as effective in the T20 format. However, we never got to see this opening pair in IPL history.

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#8 Sunil Narine and Virender Sehwag

Sunil Narine and Virender Sehwag would prove to be the most destructive opening pair in T20 history

Sunil Narine has risen in the batting ranks ever since he started opening the innings in T20 cricket as a pinch hitter. With the fielding team allowed to place only 2 fielders outside the 30 yards circle in the first six overs, pinch hitters like Narine get the maximum opportunity to cash in quick runs without much difficulty. The West Indian mystery spinner turned all-rounder deals majorly in boundaries in the mandatory powerplay.

Virender Sehwag was a man who was a proper batsman yet used to deal in boundaries in the entire phase he batted in, forget the first 6 overs. He scored runs at a rapid rate thanks to his boundary scoring abilities. This pair would have emerged as the most destructive opening pair in T20 history.

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#7 Rohit Sharma and Brendon McCullum

Speaking of destruction...

Rohit Sharma changed the landscape of limited overs cricket with his 3 double centuries in ODI cricket. Not only is he the only batsman record three 200+ scores in ODI cricket, but also he is the only batsman to have achieved the feat of scoring 4 centuries in T20I cricket. Without a shadow of a doubt, Sharma is the best opener India has got in the limited overs format.

Brendon McCullum was the man who announced the IPL's arrival in world cricket with his scintillating knock of 158 runs in the first match of IPL history. He showed the world what to expect from the league in the coming years. McCullum only evolved his aggressiveness with the bat in the coming years to earn the tag of the most destructive opener in ODI cricket. All he needed was the initial powerplay overs to change the game in his side's favor.

Brendon McCullum and Rohit Sharma are two of the biggest match-winners in limited overs format and they would have achieved a lot of success as an opening pair.

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#6 Kane Williamson and Gautam Gambhir

The two men who taught the world that T20 is not all about big-hitters

Kane Williamson is one of the calmest captains the cricket universe has ever seen in the IPL. Apart from his captaincy skills, Kane is known for his unmatched consistency in this format. Despite him not being a power hitter, the Kiwi knows how to pace his game, how to turn the momentum and how to score boundaries at the right time. It is his supreme knowledge of the game which took Sunrisers Hyderabad to the IPL final last year.

Gautam Gambhir is another individual who does not hit sixes too frequently yet manages to outshine others in the T20 format. His temperament and stroke playing abilities make him a reliable opener in any format of the game. The Delhi boy had led Kolkata Knight Riders from the front in the team's two title victories in 2012 and 2014.

Looking at the similar nature of playing shared by Williamson and Gambhir, this pair would prove to be the most temperamental pair in the IPL.

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#5 Shikhar Dhawan and Dwayne Smith

Despite their inconsistency, Shikhar Dhawan and Dwayne Smith are hailed as two of the best openers in

T20

format

Shikhar Dhawan is a kind of player who is the best batsman on the planet if he is in his purple patch, but when that purple patch runs out he fails to get going at the top which results in the shift of momentum. However, Dhawan has proven to be a match-winner in the limited overs format for India and even for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.

Dwayne Smith is another player who plays like the most destructive batsman alive if he is in form, but when he is out of form he eats more balls than the runs he scores. With Dwayne Smith and Shikhar Dhawan both having similar gameplay, their opening pair would get labeled as the 'hot and cold' pair.

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#4 Adam Gilchrist and Sourav Ganguly

Adam Gilchrist and Sourav Ganguly had always played as rivals on the field

If there is one Australian batsman who can turn the game batting at any position in the batting order, it is Adam Gilchrist. Gilly was one of the most valuable players of his time because of his unique quality of fitting anywhere in the team. He primarily made it to the team but with the evolution of his batting skills, he cemented his place in the team. Even in the IPL, he had played multiple blistering innings which had earned him the respect of the Indian fans.

Sourav Ganguly, just like Adam Gilchrist, was an explosive left-handed batsman who could play as an opener or a middle order batsman. The two had an almost identical style of playing and thus, would have made a great opening pair.

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#3 Matthew Hayden and Sanath Jayasuriya

Had T20 cricket been invented a little earlier, Matthew Hayden and Sanath Jayasuriya would have been the leading run scorers of the format

Matthew Hayden was the most explosive left-handed opener Australia had got in the 2000s. His fearlessness made him the most dominant batsman of his era. Hayden achieved a ton of success in the IPL as he had won the Orange Cap award in the 2009 IPL. Apart from his performance in the IPL, his overall strike-rate was also way higher than the top batsmen of his era.

Sanath Jayasuriya possessed the same batting style as Hayden and even he succeeded a lot in the IPL while playing for the Mumbai Indians. The Sri Lankan legend was the first ever Mumbai Indians batsman to register a century in the IPL. Only God knows which bowler would have escaped safely if this dream opening pair had come to fruition in the IPL.

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#2 Rahul Dravid and Kumar Sangakkara

Another pair of legends who made it big in the T20 format despite being technical stroke players

Not many people expected 'The Wall', Rahul Dravid to become successful in the T20 format because of his slow game. But, Dravid defied all expectations and proved the critics wrong by achieving success in the IPL. Rahul played for two IPL teams in his career, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals. He performed well in both the teams and never let his Test cricket playing style over-lapse his batting in the IPL.

Kumar Sangakkara achieved respect in the T20 format for his quick run-making ability in spite of playing textbook cricket shots. Sangakkara too played for multiple IPL teams in his prime and maintained a fair record in the league. Though they played against each other many times, Dravid and Sangakkara never played as a pair in the IPL.

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#1 Sachin Tendulkar and Chris Gayle

The first Indian to score a double hundred in limited overs format and the first overseas player to achieve the same feat

Sachin Tendulkar attained every goal that a batsman can wish for. He scored 100 centuries in international cricket, scored the first 200 of ODI cricket, recorded a century in IPL, won the Orange Cap in the IPL, won the World Cup and also won the IPL.

If there's anyone who has matched Tendulkar's level in the T20 format, it is Chris Gayle. The Caribbean opener has 6 IPL centuries to his name, has the record of scoring the highest individual score in T20 history, has a career strike-rate of 150+ in the IPL and scored the first 200 by a non-Indian in ODI cricket.

This pair would have been the dream pair of every cricket fan and it is disappointing that we never got to see these two legends bat together in the history of IPL.

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