Sri Lanka vs India 2017: Pros and cons of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma opening in Tests for Team India
It is only hours before the first Test of India’s tour of Sri Lanka gets underway at Galle. This will be India’s first overseas Test in over a year and they will be hoping to avenge their defeat from the last time they played here i.e. August 2015.
However, Sri Lanka will be without their skipper Dinesh Chandimal (he scored a marvelous 162 against India at Galle in 2015) who has been ruled out of the first Test due to pneumonia and instead, veteran spinner Rangana Herath will lead the side.
India also have huge concerns prior to the series opener as KL Rahul will miss the first match due to viral fever. The 25-year-old played his first match in nearly four months in the two-day warm-up match and scored a well-made 54.
With Rahul out, India will need to rethink their opening combination. They have Ajinkya Rahane who has proved to be a very reliable opener on many occasions in the ODI team and they also have Rohit Sharma who has played some of his greatest innings while opening.
Also read: India vs Sri Lanka 2017: India's probable playing XI for first Test
They also have Abhinav Mukund who naturally plays as an opener, but in his last three innings with the Indian team, he has scored a measly 16 runs, including ducks against Australia and the Board President XI in the warm-up match. Hence, it is very unlikely that he will get a chance to open the innings.
So that leaves India with Rahane and Rohit. None of the two have ever opened for India in Test cricket however it would be really interesting to watch a Rohit-Dhawan opening combination. Here's why.
Recent form
Both Dhawan and Rohit did not feature during the latter part of last year. Dhawan’s performances during the West Indies Tour and Tests against New Zealand were very poor and as a result, he was dropped from the Test team as well as the ODI team to face New Zealand.
He did play a couple of ODIs against England but scored 1 and 11. However, he returned to form during the IPL where he was the third-highest run-scorer of the tournament with 479 runs at an average of 36.84 and strike-rate of 127.39. The Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman continued his good form during the Champions Trophy where he scored over 50 in every group game including a wonderful 125 in India’s second match of the tournament, against Sri Lanka. Dhawan ended the tournament as the highest run-scorer for the second consecutive campaign with 338 runs at an average of 67.60, becoming the only batsman to top score in two Champions Trophies.
Rohit Sharma, meanwhile, scored three fine half-centuries during the Test series against New Zealand as a middle-order batsman but his performances during the ODIs were poor as he managed innings of just 14, 15, 13, and 11 in the first four ODIs before scoring a 65-ball 70 in the final ODI at Vishakhapatnam during which he injured himself. The Mumbai Indians skipper returned to feature in the IPL but began the tournament on a poor note, scoring only nine runs from the first four matches. As the tournament progressed, he found his groove and finished as the 17th highest run-scorer with 333 runs at an average of 23.78 and a strike-rate of 121.97, captaining MI to a third IPL title.
Sharma was in wonderful form during the Champions Trophy, scoring half-centuries against Pakistan and Sri Lanka and a century against Bangladesh in the semi-final. He ended the tournament as the second highest run-scorer behind Dhawan with 304 runs at an average of 76.
Amongst the most reliable openers in the world currently
Dhawan has played as an opener all his career and has scored more than 5000 runs in Tests and ODIs combined. His performances have been very consistent and he is currently amongst the finest opening batsmen in the world.
As for Rohit, he began his career as a middle-order batsman and was in fine form until 2011. However, in 2012, the MI skipper scored only 168 runs in 12 innings at an average of 14, with his form taking a nosedive following the Asia Cup.
However, he was promoted to open the innings during the ODI series against England in early 2013 and scored 83 in the 4th ODI at Mohali. Sharma then became a regular opener and played some of his finest ODI innings at that position, including two double hundreds.
Sharma has scored 3468 runs in the 74 matches in which he has opened at an average of 52.54 and at a strike rate of 88.37 compared to his 1972 runs as a non-opener in 84 matches at an average of 42.46 and strike rate of 84.56.
Sharma has never got an opportunity to open in Test cricket and that may be the reason why he has not impressed much in the longer format. Provided he gets the chance to open, this is a very good opportunity for Rohit to prove that he can perform just as well in Tests.
A very solid opening stand
One of the main reasons why India are considered to be one of the strongest cricket teams right now is due to the solid foundation laid by Dhawan and Rohit at the top. The duo played a major role in India winning the 2013 Champions Trophy and the tournaments that followed.
In 84 ODIs, they have added 3544 runs at an average of 60.07 with 10 100+ partnerships and a total of 19 50+ partnerships. Both players understand each other well and on their day, can take apart any bowling attack. Having seen the Dhawan-Rohit opening partnerships in ODIs and T20Is, we would love to see the duo opening the innings in the longer format as well.
Cons
Even though there are quite a few positives to the duo opening the Indian innings in Tests, there are a few cons as well. Firstly, both have never opened together in a Test and with a change in format, building the same foundations that they used to in ODIs won’t be an easy task. Besides, the duo have been known to give quick starts and if they open in Tests, they will have to play a lot more patiently.
Secondly, Dhawan has underperformed in his last few Tests. The Sunrisers Hyderabad opener has struggled in the Tests that followed India’s Tour of Sri Lanka, managing a total of just 306 runs in 13 innings at an average of 25.05 with his highest score being 84 against West Indies at North Sound.
Also read: 5 reasons why India cannot take Sri Lanka lightly
Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, has flattered to deceive ever since scoring centuries in his first two Test innings, against West Indies in 2013. He may have scored a few fifties in the past few series but he has punched way below his weight. However, this could be because he has never gotten the opportunity to open the innings due to the presence of Murali Vijay, and KL Rahul.
Now that both Rahul and Vijay are out, Rohit might just get the nod from the selectors and provided he puts up a strong performance in the first Test, there is a possibility we may see Dhawan and Rohit opening for India in all three formats.