T20 World Cup 2022: Team-wise backup openers for mega event

The T20 World Cup 2022 is less than a month away. The marquee tournament will be held in Australia which is considered congenial for pacers. Each team has high-quality openers who could counter the new ball and also make good use of the powerplay. Moreover, if the first-choice openers are unavailable for some reason, teams should have quality backups in place. Interestingly, teams have amazing reinforcements in their wings, who could play the role to perfection. Let us look at the backup openers for several teams heading into the tournament: 1. Australia - Josh Inglis and Marcus Stoinis Josh Inglis and Marcus Stoinis could be the right fit to fill the David Warner-Aaron Finch void if needed as far as the opening slots are concerned. The duo has shown its batting might in the T20 circuit and has the experience of batting at the top. Inglis has shown his versatility to bat at different positions. The wicket-keeper batter has also been drafted into the playing XI as an opener when the veteran openers have been absent. In the T20Is, the 27-year-old has a strike rate of 144.35. He also opens for his BBL franchise Perth Scorchers and has played many blistering knocks at the top. Stoinis is not new to starting the innings with the bat either. The batting allrounder has been a regular opener for his BBL franchise - Melbourne Stars and has played many breathtaking innings at the top. In addition to that, the 33-year-old has opened in the IPL too and done decently well. 2. New Zealand - Finn Allen and Daryl Mitchell Finn Allen and Daryl Mitchell could form a formidable backup opening pair for regular openers Martin Guptill and Devon Conway. Both players have considerable experience opening the innings and have done amazingly well. Allen broke into the New Zealand white-ball setup on the back of stellar seasons in the domestic circuit. He has replicated the same form for the Blackcaps amassing 334 runs in 13 games at an outstanding strike rate of 169.54. The 23-year-old is known for his aggressive batting and can take the attack to the opposition from the word go. Mitchell has been pretty flexible as a batter according to the needs of the team. In last year’s T20 World Cup, he aced the opener's role accumulating 208 runs at a strike rate of 140.54 and was instrumental in New Zealand reaching the tournament’s Final. The 31-year-old can play the role of a basher and can also dig in if required. 3. England - Phil Salt and James Vince Phil Salt has been a regular figure in England’s limited-overs setup and has been picked up as a backup opener in the T20 World Cup squad. He is a destroyer with the bat at the top of the order and showed his hitting prowess in the recently concluded The Hundred 2022 competition. In ten games that he played for Manchester Originals, Salt scored 353 runs at an impressive strike rate of 152.81 and was second on the leading run-getters list. Therefore, the wicket-keeper batter makes his case very strong as a backup opener in absence of Jos Buttler and Alex Hales. On the other hand, James Vince, who has been in top form this year could be a great fit to partner Salt at the top. Vince was the highest run-scorer of T20 Blast 2022 and played a vital role in leading Hampshire to their title victory. He also had a decent run with the bat in this year’s Hundred. The 31-year-old has also represented the Three Lions in 17 T20Is, and has notched up 463 runs at a strike rate of 128.25. 4. India - Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant India could look at Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant as a backup for the regular opening pair of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. Both batters are renowned for their flamboyant batting display and could give India brisk starts. Kishan has been a regular opener for the Men in Blue in the absence of senior openers Rohit and Rahul and has done fairly well. In the 19 T20Is, the Jharkhand batter has aggregated 543 runs at a strike rate of 131.16. Hence, Ishan can be a great choice. Rishabh has opened for India U19 in the past and was instrumental in their success in the 2016 U19 World Cup where they lost to the West Indies in the summit clash. In the shortest format, he could take any bowling attack apart in the powerplay and get his team off to flyers. 5. Pakistan - Shan Masood and Fakhar Zaman Pakistan have their two most prolific batters in Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan opening the innings for them in the shortest format. But even if the opening duo is not there, the Men in Green have able replacements in Shan Masood and Fakhar Zaman to start the innings. Shan had a stellar season in the T20 blast 2022 for Derbyshire. He smashed 547 runs in 14 games at a strike rate of 139.90. Based on his dominant performance, the 32-year-old broke into Pakistan’s squad for the upcoming T20 extravaganza. The southpaw is a rock at the top of the order and is capable of changing gears when needed. Fakhar has been a vital cog in Pakistan’s white-ball setup. The senior pro is the Men in Green’s prime opener in the ODIs and can easily fulfill the same role in the shortest format. The swashbuckling batter is known for his fearless style of play and can go all guns blazing from ball one. 6. South Africa - Reeza Hendricks and Janneman Malan As far as the opening slots are concerned, South Africa have in their ranks two quality backups in Reeza Hendricks and Janneman Malan. Both the players have established themselves as match-winners in white-ball cricket and can fill in when Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma are unavailable. Hendricks is in a rich vein of form at the moment. This is evident by the fact that he was the Player of the Series in the Proteas' last two T20I assignments. The 33-year-old is someone who can shepherd the innings while the stroke-makers take the bowling apart. The Kimberley-born has played 48 matches and aggregated 1372 runs at a strike rate of 125.41. Talking of Malan, the 26-year-old has been a constant figure in South Africa's white-ball circuit. The Nelspruit-born is a regular opener in the 50-over format for Bavuma & Co where he averages 52.71 in 20 matches which is quite outstanding. The ace opener also has featured in 11 games in the shortest format for the Proteas and strikes at 129.57. 7. Afghanistan - Usman Ghani and Ibrahim Zadran Afghanistan has the explosive duo of Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz to open the innings for them. Usman Ghani and Ibrahim Zadran can serve as quality backup for the flamboyant opening pair. Ghani has been a designated opener for Afghanistan in limited-overs cricket. He is the go-to man for Mohammad Nabi & Co. in absence of either Gurbaz or Zazai. He has done a decent job for the side scoring 705 runs in 30 matches in the shortest format. Ibrahim could partner with Ghani at the top. He has been a valuable addition to the Afghan side. A solid number three batter, Ibrahim has the skills to excel at the top. The 20-year-old has the ability to pierce gaps to perfection and can also bring the power game into play when required. He is a consistent batter at the top and has amassed 310 runs in 13 T20Is. 8. Bangladesh - Mohammad Naim and Mehidy Hasan Miraz Litton Das and Sabbir Rahman will likely be Bangladesh’s first-choice openers. When it comes to the backup for the right-handers, the Bangla Tigers do not need to look past Mohammad Naim and Mehidy Hasan Miraz to start the innings. Mehidy started his career as a lower order batter. The 24-year-old used to play crucial cameos at the fag end of the innings. Taking cognizance of his ability to accelerate lower down the order, the team management opened with him in the game against Sri Lanka at the Asia cup 2022. His hitting abilities were on display as he scored a brisk 38 off 26 balls at a strike rate of 146.15. Talking about the all-rounder’s partner Naim, the southpaw has been a regular feature for Bangladesh at the top. The 23-year-old has played 35 matches in the shortest format and scored 815 runs at an average of 23.97. He has good game awareness and paces his innings as per the situation. The rock-solid batter could be the perfect foil for Mehidy.

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T20 World Cup 2022: Team-wise backup openers for mega event

The T20 World Cup will be held in Australia which is considered congenial for pacers. Hence, the role of openers will be very crucial heading into the tournament.

4. India - Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant

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