5 Indian openers who started their career as middle-order batsmen
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Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma
The opening batters play a vital role in the performance of every side as they lay the foundation of the innings. The top-order batters also help in negating the early movement of the ball, especially in red-ball cricket.
The Indian cricket team belongs to the elite group of producing some of the greatest openers of all time in the world. However, many of them began playing in the middle order before making the switch to the top of the line-up.
Let’s look at the top five Indian openers who started their career as middle-order batsmen:
Sachin Tendulkar
Legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar has more international runs than anybody else in the world. However, things were not always great for the ‘Master Blaster’ as he was not getting enough opportunities to showcase his abundant talent while batting in the middle order. He went on to push to open the batting which later transformed his career completely.
Rohit Sharma
India’s current white-ball skipper Rohit Sharma is the youngest cricketer to make it to this list. The right-hander’s career witnessed a massive turnaround when he was sent at the top to open the innings alongside Shikhar Dhawan. After having a mediocre time in the initial days, Sharma went on to become one of the best limited-overs batters of modern-day cricket.
Virender Sehwag
Unlike Sachin and Rohit, Virender Sehwag had made a successful start to both his ODI and Test career from the middle order. But his game took off to another level when he was thrust into the unfamiliar position of opening the batting during the 2002 tour of England. The Delhi cricketer has scored 38 centuries in international cricket, only two of them have come not as an opener.
Sourav Ganguly
One of the most successful Indian captains, Sourav Ganguly has batted at multiple positions for his national side. Alongside Tendulkar, Ganguly formed India’s formidable opening partnership in ODIs, winning many matches. But all this started when the southpaw made a comeback in the 50-over format and the team management sent him to open the innings after a stellar Test debut in 1996.
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid has opened the innings for India less than the other four batters in this list as he was not a regular-choice opener. However, with his solid technique and impeccable temperament, Dravid was asked to open on multiple occasions, especially in overseas conditions. ‘The Wall’ of Indian cricket was a true team player who made some invaluable contributions with bat at the top.
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Sachin Arora
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