Ideal Opening Pair for Team India in ODI World Cup 2023

The ODI World Cup will be played in October - November this year. India will host this big tournament and all the matches will take place across different venues in India. 10 teams will be part of this ICC tournament. Being the host, the Indian team got a direct qualification and the side is working to form a powerful squad for this World Cup. 

There has been a lot of discussion about who will be the ideal opening pair for Team India in the ODI World Cup. There are few options available for selectors to choose as some opening players are performing well and have impressed everyone. 

Ideal Opening Pair for Team India and why?

Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill

For Opening, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill have high chances of getting picked in India’s Squad for ODI World Cup 2023. Rohit Sharma is likely to lead Team India in this tournament. He will be the best pick in ODI any day for the opening slot.

The right-handed batter has very good records in ODI format and is an experienced player. At such a big stage, Team will need his experience as well as his contribution at the top. This year, he has been in superb form in this format and has scored 371 runs in 8 ODIs at a strike rate of 46.37 with 2 centuries and 1 half-century. The quality and contribution he brings to his side are simply unmatchable. 

Shubman Gill has also done really well in 2023 so far and has been very consistent across all formats of cricket. He has scored 624 runs in 9 ODIs with an outstanding average of 78. He made 3 centuries and 1 half-century this year. He also smashed a brilliant double century against New Zealand and became the youngest double centurion in One Day Internationals.

The right-handed batter has been India’s best all-format player this year. In IPL 2023 playing for Gujarat Titans, Shubman Gill was in outstanding form and smashed 3 centuries. He has an outstanding season with the bat and has been enjoying an incredible 2023. He became India’s highest centurion in T20 Internationals and now scored 3 centuries in IPL with two back-to-back centuries. 

Also read:  Can the 2023 Cricket World Cup revive ODI cricket? 

In this season of IPL, he has impressed many senior players with his excellent batting. The 23-year-old opener has left everyone astonished with his brilliant stroke play and exploits in recent times. Team India’s batter Shikhar Dhawan expressed his thoughts and said that if he was the Indian selector he would have picked young Shubman Gill over himself in the ODI squad. He has been in tremendous form in International Cricket. 

Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill’s alliances in the six ODI’s India have played so far at home this year. In 2023 so far, the duo has had an impressive show as they added 615 runs in 6 matches together. 

With Skipper Rohit going strong and young Shubman getting better each day, the new opening pair looks really productive. Both the classy batters, who seem to have all the time in the world for their shots, combined for India’s fifth-best and seventh 200-run opening stand in ODIs. They will be an Ideal Opening Pair for Team India for ODI World Cup 2023.