5 Makeshift openers who found success in Test cricket

Cricket is continuing merrily around the globe but the heated debate which is making the rounds is Rohit Sharma‘s promotion in the Test arena. In two weeks, Hitman will be facing the new-ball spells against the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander. It’s not that he is new to red-ball but he has been given a task which is considered one of the toughest in the whites.

Rohit has a wealth of experience and he is also a successful white-ball opener but when it comes to the longer version of the game it requires a different skillset. Opening in 5-day cricket is similar to trial by fire and many of them failed to pass this test. Even in today’s time, Test openers are having a torrid time.

Still, he can take note of some of the exceptional players who became successful openers of their side after receiving the spot in the process of a trial and error method.

Here is the list of 5 makeshift openers who found success in Test cricket:

1) Sanath Jayasuriya

The year 1996 belongs to Sri Lankan cricket as they defied the odds to win their maiden World Cup. Coincidentally, it was the same time when Sanath Jayasuriya was hitting the right notes in his professional life. Especially his red-ball career took a flight in that year and ended up as one of the best batsmen to emerge out of the island nation.

Even after making his Test debut in 1991 he was unable to book a permanent place in the side for the first 5 years. In his initial days, he played as an all-rounder who could chip in with wickets and muster useful lower-order runs. Then a trip to Down Under changed his fortunes as captain Aravinda de Silva took a gamble by pushing him up the order in place of misfiring opener, Roshan Mahanama.

Immediately Jayasuriya stroked a ton at Adelaide which laid the platform for the rest of his career. After that, he went on to add 13 more Test centuries which also included a marathon knock of 340 against India. Though the southpaw didn’t have a sound technique against the new-ball his immense self-belief made him a successful opening batsman. It is quite striking that his ODI graph also traversed an upward curve after his Test heroics.