Abhishek-Samson; Gill-Sudharsan or Rahul-Jaiswal? — India’s opulence of openers in IPL brings selection sizzle to World Cup defense | Cricket News
In an IPL season where the broad theme of skyscraping totals has faced smart rejection, a wave of alternatives has emerged to spice up India’s T20I top-order batting scene. Seven months out from a T20 World Cup title defence in familiar sub-continent conditions, there could be up to six top-billing IPL bats in the mix to firm up India’s top two spots – three if captain Suryakumar Yadav considers a No. 4 move. Despite opening in the last 12 T20Is that India have played since last October, smashing records and four centuries between them, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson will confront cut-throat competition for their slots in the months ahead. Levelling up the accumulation game to never-before-seen levels in the IPL with the Gujarat Titans, Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill have established another portal to T20’s opening game. Story continues below this ad A string of long-format commitments kept him away in late 2024, but Yashasvi Jaiswal is back up and firing, letting everybody take note of his high ceiling as India’s best all-format opener. …



