Players who have the potential to become the next Sehwag in Tests
As India grapples with the opening batting conundrum going into the third Test, it would be interesting to look at the players who have the potential to become the next Virender Sehwag. Sehwag, himself was never an opening batsmen and this role was thrust upon him by his skipper Ganguly. He turned out to be one of the best opening batsman which India has ever produced.
Here are five players who have the potential to become the next Sehwag in Test cricket:
Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma started off as a middle order batsman in ODIs. In 2013, Dhoni decided to promote him as an opener which proved to be a turning point in his career. He has already scored a couple of double hundreds and holds the record of the highest individual score in ODIs. Rohit is a gifted player and natural stroke-maker. When he is on song, he can decimate any bowling attack.
In tests, Rohit has promised a lot but has failed to deliver. He has been tried at different positions in the middle order sometimes even at the expense of the likes of Pujara and Rahane. This seems to have not worked and now Rohit finds himself out of the test team.
Kohli should do a Ganguly and make a bold move of promoting Rohit Sharma to the opening slot in Tests.
KL Rahul
KL Rahul is part of the current Indian test squad touring England but his position is not defined. Rahul is an opening batsman but he has been pushed to No 3 in tests and No 4 in ODIs. This does not augur well for his confidence. He should be given a long run as an opener in tests. Rahul is an explosive batsman and has the capability of playing all the shots in the book. He has shown what he is capable of in IPL and T20s.