Rating Opening Pairs Of All Teams Ahead Of IPL 2020

The 13th season of the IPL is all set to take place in the United Arab Emirates between September 19-November 10. And, just like every other season, anticipation and excitement and have started to galore among fans.

Fans, as well as pundits, have started to analyse the strength and weaknesses of the all the eight participating teams. One of the key aspect of a strong team is their opening combination, for they are the ones who lay the platform on which their middle-order batsman can cash-in. Each side in the IPL is spoiled for choices as far as their opening combinations is concerned.

So, we at Cricket Addictor thought, why not rate the possible opening pairs of each of the 8 IPL Team ahead of the 2020 edition?

Delhi Capitals- Shikhar Dhawan & Prithvi Shaw- 8/10

The Shreyas Iyer-led unit has a plethora of opening options in the form of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Alex Carey, and Marcus Stoinis.

Shaw and Dhawan were one of the cornerstones of an improved season last year. And, despite all the other options, it is almost certain that they would go with the tried and tested combination atleast at the start of the tournament.

While Prithvi Shaw racked up 353 runs in the last season at an average of 22, Shikhar Dhawan compiled 521 runs at an average of 34.73.

Chennai Super Kings- Shane Watson & Faf du Plessis- 8/10

CSK experimented with having Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu as their opening pair in the league stage of the competition last season before they finally zeroed on the pair of Watson and Du Plessis.

Both Watson and Du Plessis complement each other really well and it will be interesting to see how they go about their business this time around. If the pair does not perform up to expectations, CSK has enough backup options in the form of Ambati Rayudu, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Murali Vijay.

Also Read- BCCI President Sourav Ganguly Reacts To CSK Members Testing Positive For Covid-19

Rajasthan Royals- Jos Buttler & Yashasvi Jaiswal- 8/10

In Jos Buttler, Rajasthan Royals has one of the leading white-ball batsmen in the world as one of their openers. But the question is who will partner the swashbuckling Engish wicketkeeper-batsman at the top of the order?

Rajasthan Royals have interesting options in the form of young Yashasvi Jaiswal and the experienced Robin Uthappa. Jaiswal stormed into reckoning courtesy his exploits in the last domestic season and the U-19 World Cup.

If the Royals do go with Jaiswal at the top of the order, it will not only give them a dynamic left-right combination but also pave way for the likes of Robin Uthappa, Steve Smith, and Sanju Samson to lead the middle-order.

Kings XI Punjab- KL Rahul & Chris Gayle- 9/10

There may be doubts about the overall team combination of Kings XI Punjab, but one place where there is absolutely no doubt is their choice of openers.

In skipper KL Rahul and ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle, Kings XI Punjab boast of two of the finest T20 batsman going around in world cricket, and once again the onus will be on them to spearhead the batting line-up.

The duo were in brilliant form in the last season, often giving their sides a platform to build their innings on. Since the start of 2018, KL Rahul and Chris Gayle have stitched three 100+ stands, something KXIP fans will hope will continue in IPL 2020.

Kolkata Knight Riders- Shubman Gill & Sunil Narine- 8/10

With the likes of Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Tom Banton at their disposal, Kolkata Knight Riders are spoilt for riches when it comes to their opening department.

Tom Banton is an exciting option at the top of the order but with Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Pat Cummins expected to be their first-choice overseas players, it is highly likely that Narine and Gill will be their opening pair, atleast at the start of the IPL.

Narine is in great form with the bat in the ongoing CPL, and he will once again be laden with the responsibility of getting KKR to a whirlwind start to their innings while Shubman Gill would look to anchor the innings, a perfect foil for the slam-bang Narine.

Royal Challengers Bangalore- Aaron Finch & Devdutt Padikkal- 8/10

Parthiv Patel, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli, and Devdutt Padikkal. The Royal Challengers Bangalore have enough options at the top of the order.

Aaron Finch recently revealed that his game plan in the upcoming IPL will be to tee off in the powerplay and provide blistering starts to the team. But, who will partner Finch at the top of the order? Will it be Parthiv Patel, who did really well last year? Or will it be Devdutt Padikkal, who had a brilliant domestic season for Karnataka last year? Or will Virat Kohli promote himself to the opening spot?

There are a lot of combinations but according to reports, RCB is mulling over handing the keeping gloves to AB de Villiers, which means that Parthiv Patel might not start as Finch’s opening partner. Simon Katich has been really impressed with Devdutt Padikkal. The RCB coach recently suggested that Padikkal is not far from making his IPL debut.

And, if that is the case, the swashbuckling left-right combination of Finch and Padikkal could well prove to be the masterstroke.

Mumbai Indians- Rohit Sharma & Quinton de Kock- 8.5/10

Mumbai Indians roped in Chris Lynn as a back-up opening option but with the presence of a formidable opening pair in the form of Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma, it is unlikely that the Australian swashbuckler will start as the first-choice opener.

De Kock was absolutely brilliant in the last season as he consistently got his team to whirlwind starts. The wicketkeeper-batsman smoked 529 runs in 16 games at an average of 35.26, and he will once again be the key to the defending champions’ fortunes.

Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, will be looking to shrug off his indifferent form of last season, where he failed to convert his starts into big innings.

Sunrisers Hyderabad- David Warner & Jonny Bairstow- 10/10

Four-century partnerships at a combined strike-rate of 177 and three half-century stands at a combined strike-rate of 151; most runs by an opening pair in a single IPL season; the highest opening stand [185 vs Royal Challengers Bangalore] in the history of the Indian Premier League.

Need I say more about possibly one of the most swashbuckling opening pairs in the history of the cash-rich league in David Warner and Jonny Bairstow? The Australian bull David Warner and England’s swashbuckler Jonny Bairstow were at the height of their powers as an opening pair in the last season of the IPL, and they will once again be the key to the ‘Orange Army’s’ fortunes in the 13th edition.

Another thing that goes in favor of both Warner and Bairstow is that they will be coming off a good workout in the limited-overs series between Australia and England, which finished just before the IPL, and one can expect them to once again rule the batting charts this season.