Who should open for India against New Zealand?

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  • With KL Rahul in great form, one of Shikhar Dhawan or Murali Vijay could be dropped

    Virat Kohli’s understandable insistence on playing five bowlers in Test matches has created an enviable dilemma where he is forced to make a few choices amongst a talented pool of batsmen.

    KL Rahul’s stellar year means he should retain a spot in the playing eleven, but with the previous opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay broken, they are potentially in direct competition for a single spot.

    Both of them have near-identical averages, and both are coming off a patchy run in Test matches. Though Dhawan did make a fifty in the West Indies, that hardly puts him ahead of Vijay, who only had a single innings to play in the Caribbean.

    Dhawan brings the slight advantage of being the only left-handed specialist batsman in the Indian squad.

    However, that potential advantage is comfortably offset by Vijay’s acumen at seeing off the new ball, a skill that will be handy against New Zealand’s capable swing bowlers. Ultimately, Vijay looks a more deserving partner to open with Rahul in the first Test.

    There’s a third realistic possibility that isn’t being offered: opening with Cheteshwar Pujara. There are various reasons to believe that Pujara may open.

    Firstly, both the captain and head of selection committee have shown the desire to give Rohit Sharma a “proper run” in Test matches. Secondly, Kumble has explicitly stated that Pujara is vital for the Test team’s success.

    During the third Test against Sri Lanka last year, the Saurashtra batsman did get to open and scored 145* in challenging conditions, becoming only the fourth Indian batsman ever to carry his bat. Based on recent form, Pujara is coming into the series on the back of two impressive centuries in the Duleep Trophy (166 and 256*).

    Kohli has the tendency to make unexpected decisions with respect to the composition of the team – both in the Indian Test team and for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League. He also recently mentioned that he’s comfortable playing at one down should the team require him to do.

    Between Vijay and Dhawan, the former probably makes a claim to the playing spot, but do not be surprised if Pujara joins Rahul to open against New Zealand.

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