The upcoming England tour will prove to be a huge test for India’s incumbent openers, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill to seal their spots. Here’s looking back at past Indian opening batsmen this century, and their varying degrees of success in England.
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Opening in England has always been a challenging ask for batsmen from the subcontinent: the damp conditions and overcast skies are a swing bowler’s dream, and it ends up being more a game of defence than offence. Since 2000, ten Indian batsmen have opened in England – here’s how they fared.
#10 Gautam Gambhir
4 matches, 92 runs @ 13.14, HS: 38
For a player of Gambhir’s calibre to go two England tours without a fifty was a significant blip in an otherwise fine Test career. Months after he played a key role in the World Cup, Gambhir’s 2011 tour was hampered by injury: first an elbow issue, and later a concussion.
He returned in 2014, but was troubled by the pairing of James Anderson and Stuart Broad consistently. Scores of 4, 18, 0 and 3 meant it was his final away tour for India.
#9 Abhinav Mukund
2 matches, 64 runs @ 16.00, HS: 49
Mukund couldn’t replicate his domestic success in international cricket, and in his final Test series abroad, went either boom or bust in four innings. On a forgettable opening Test for India at Lord’s, Mukund stood tall with an 88-ball 49.
In the Nottingham Test though, Mukund bagged a duck in the first innings and managed a 41-ball 3, but was sidelined soon after, not making a comeback for the next six years.
#8 Shikhar Dhawan
7 matches, 284 runs @ 20.28, HS: 44
Much like his entire Test career, Dhawan’s numbers in England were a string of promising starts that didn’t translate into substantial scores. In 10 out of 14 innings, he managed a score between 10 and 45, but on two tours to the country, didn’t hit a single fifty in seven games.
The 2018 tour was especially crucial for him: with pressure mounting, Dhawan managed a best of 44 in eight innings, and was left out soon after. He hasn’t played a Test since.
#7 Wasim Jaffer
5 matches, 244 runs @ 24.40, 3 50s, HS: 62
With India still looking for a proper opening pair in the 2000s, Jaffer travelled twice to England (2002, 2007). There was nothing spectacular in those outings, but he played his part in blunting the new ball, twice facing 100 or more deliveries in an innings.
He was especially impactful in 2007: in the first Test, he scored a 156-ball 58 when none of his teammates managed more than 37. His 62 in the second Test also played a key role in their historic win.
#6 Virender Sehwag
6 matches, 278 runs @ 27.80, 1 100, 1 50, HS: 106
The 2002 Lord’s Test completely turned things around for Sehwag’s career; then a middle-order basher, he was asked to open the innings on the tour. The move paid off, and how – he struck 84, 27 and 106 in his first three innings, even though the next three innings yielded 0, 8 and 12.
Sehwag didn’t travel to the country until 2011 when an SOS call saw him fly out for the final two Tests (with England 2-0 in lead). It turned out to be a horrendous call: he managed a king pair in his comeback game.
#5 KL Rahul
4 matches, 282 runs @ 35.25, 1 100, HS: 149
Rahul’s Test career faced a moment of truth in England in 2018, as he tried to establish his spot as a Test opener. He started slow, putting together a string of starts before fizzling out, getting bowled as many as five times.
It wasn’t until the final Test that Rahul truly found form. Battling to avoid defeat, he put on a stylish, boundary-filled 149, combining with Rishabh Pant for a 204-run stand. It didn’t save the Test, but it resurrected his career, albeit briefly.
#4 Murali Vijay
7 matches, 428 runs @ 30.57, 1 100, 2 50s, HS: 146
One of India’s most successful openers of the 2010s, Vijay started his 2014 England sojourn with a bang, scoring a magnificent 146 in Nottingham and following it up with 52 in the second innings. In the next game, he hit a crucial 95 at Lord’s. It felt like India had finally found a solid option to take on English conditions.
But Vijay’s numbers fell in the subsequent games, and the 2018 series was largely uneventful: he ended with a tally of 26 runs in four innings, including a pair at Lord’s.
#3 Sanjay Bangar
2 matches, 89 runs @ 44.50, 1 50, HS: 68
Bangar’s Test career spanned just a year, but he played a vital role as a grafter alongside Virender Sehwag at the top of the order. There wasn’t anything striking about his batting but stuck to his method of attrition even in challenging circumstances.
Two of his gritty knocks – a 236-ball 68 at Leeds and an 84-ball 21 at the Oval in 2002 – perfectly highlighted his role, and while he did not play for long, he played more than his part in the limited opportunities.
#2 Dinesh Karthik
3 matches, 263 runs @ 43.83, 3 50, HS: 91
Primarily a wicketkeeper, Karthik moved into a makeshift opener’s role with aplomb, helping India clinch a historic win in 2007. He hit a fifty in each of the three Tests he played, using his compact technique to play an attacking, confident role which helped take the pressure off other batsmen.
Despite the excellent performance, Karthik soon had to make way as other specialist openers emerged.
#1 Rahul Dravid
3 matches, 318 runs @ 79.50, 2 100s, HS: 146*
The lone saviour in the 2011 series, Dravid tackled every obstacle on the tour with his blazing form. Midway through the tour, India required an opener, and Dravid stepped up in style, smashing two spectacular hundreds.
A testament to his dedication came in London, when he carried his bat with a 266-ball marathon amid ruins elsewhere in the line-up, and then returned immediately to open the batting in the second innings.
