3 opening options India can bank on going into the T20 World Cup

Rohit Sharma is the national team's first-choice T20 opener (Getty Images)

India has a large pool of players when it comes to opening batters in the T20 format. Thanks to the IPL, fans can observe a lot of young talents in the country as they compete in the competition.

The T20 World Cup will be played in Australia and the Indian team will need players that are well-suited to those conditions. The opening pair will have to face the likes of Shaheen Afridi, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje in the group stage on pitches that will be conducive to fast bowling.

Hence, it is important that there is an ideal balance of experience and youth in the T20 World Cup squad. Young players such as Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad are being groomed into the role by the new management in the absence of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.

We take a look at the three most reliable opening options for India going into the T20 World Cup later this year.

#1 Ishan Kishan

.@ishankishan51 dazzled & put on an absolute show with the bat! 🔥 🔥 #TeamIndia | #INDvSA | @Paytm

Watch his 4⃣8⃣-ball 7⃣6⃣-run blitz 🎥 🔽
bcci.tv/videos/5556892…

The 23-year-old southpaw made his debut for the national team last year in March against England. Since then, he has featured in 13 T20Is for India, scoring 453 runs at an average of 38 and a strike rate of 133. Kishan also has four half-centuries to his name in the format.

Kishan was India's backup opening option at the T20 World Cup last year. Even after the tournament, he has been a regular in the opening slot whenever Rohit Sharma or KL Rahul have not been a part of the playing XI.

Kishan is a left-hander who can strike from the first ball. This gives him an advantage over other quality T20 openers in the country like Gaikwad and Prithvi Shaw. He has also looked extremely promising against the South African bowling unit in the first three matches of the series.

#2 KL Rahul

KL Rahul is one of the finest T20 players in the country and can score runs consistently at a healthy strike rate. His T20I record is magnificent - 1831 runs in 52 innings at an average of 41 and a strike rate of 142.

Rahul and Rohit's partnership at the top of the order has been successful for team India. The team management will not tinker with something that has given good results over the years. KL also had a good IPL 2022 campaign and is one of the in-form batters in India.

However, there has been criticism over certain aspects of Rahul's game. He tends to start too conservatively in the powerplay overs. Rahul has also not performed as well as expected in the two ICC tournaments he has been a part of - 2019 ODI WC and 2021 T20 WC. He has been injury-prone in recent times and is unlikely to be a part of the team for the England tour in July.

#3 Rohit Sharma

Milestone 🔔 - Captain @ImRo45 now sits atop the leading run-scorer in T20Is list 👏👏

#TeamIndia https://t.co/4SzIDCXuTM

The captain of the Indian cricket team remains the first-choice opening option for the team in white-ball cricket despite his recent performances in the IPL. Sharma could only score 268 runs in 14 innings in the 2022 edition of the tournament, as MI finished tenth in the points table.

However, Sharma's T20 international record since becoming a full-time skipper has been good - 268 runs in eight innings at an average of 34 and a strike rate of 146. The change in his batting approach in the first six overs has been very refreshing.

As an opener, Sharma has scored 173 runs in five innings in Australia at an average of 35 and a strike rate of 134. He is also India's best option along with KL Rahul and Virat Kohli to counter quality fast-bowling on Australian soil.