The ICC T20 World Cup is a tournament that is awaited by the entire cricket community. Ever since the tournament has begun it has been the batsmen’s paradise. The batters have dominated the game from 2006 onwards. The openers play a key role in setting up an innings for the team. All other batters play a reactive game while the openers play a proactive game. There are several super strikers of the ball including Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Babar Azam, Quinton De Kock, David Warner, and Jason Roy. Here is a look at the top 5 openers to watch out for:
Rohit Sharma will lead the Indian National Team at the ICC T20 World Cup 2022:
Rohit Sharma will be leading the Indian Cricket Team at the World Cup in October. He has always been a stand-out performer in such tournaments. Whether Rohit opens the batting with Shikhar or with KL Rahul that will be good to see. Rohit isn’t in the prime of form currently. He had a dreadful season with the bat in IPL 2022. However, a wise man once quote, “Form is temporary and class is permanent.”
Rohit is a true champion and knows how to make a comeback. Under his leadership, the Indian cricket team has a good chance of getting their hands on the second T20 World Cup. The cricketing world has never seen someone time the ball better than Rohit Sharma. The short ball is his strong zone. His pull shot is crisp. Here is a look at his stats:
| Matches | 384 |
| Runs | 10163 |
| Strike Rate | 133.35 |
| Average | 31.36 |
| Highest | 118 |
| 50s | 69 |
| 100s | 6 |
Bhanuka Rajapaksha Will Play for Sri Lanka at the ICC T20 World Cup 2022:
A very surprising name on this list is Bhanuka Rajapaksha. The wicket-keeper batsman from Sri Lanka has made it to this list after a thumping performance for the Punjab Kings. His innings were not very long but were very impactful. He was striking at the rate of 230 in the powerplay overs. Bhanuka is also a part of the resurgence that the Sri Lankan national team is bringing in recent times.
He is left-handed and that gives him the added dimension. He can form a good pair along with Pathum Nissanka at the top. Pathum likes to take his time and play the anchor’s innings while Bhanuka can be very expressive on the other hand. Here is a look at the stats of Bhanuka:
| Matches | 114 |
| Runs | 2118 |
| Strike Rate | 136.73 |
| Average | 23.53 |
| Highest | 96* |
| 50s | 10 |
| 100s | 0 |
Quinton De Kock will open for South Africa in the ICC T20 World Cup:
De Kock has been a part of the international cricketing circuit since 2013. He happens to be one of the most experienced cricketers at the moment. He was drafted to the senior team early on in his career. He started his T20 journey with the Highveld Lions in the Champions League T20. De Kock was looking in supreme touch in the IPL. His innings of 140 runs will be etched in every cricket fan’s heart.
The Australian pitches are going to help De Kock. He likes the ball coming onto the bat and like bounce. This is exactly what the Australian pitches have on offer. They do not have the spongy bounce like on Indian wickets. The bounce in Australia is crisp and ruthless. Also, the pitches offer pace. Quinton De Kock has a truckload of experience and it is about time he takes responsibility.
| Matches | 260 |
| Runs | 7826 |
| Strike Rate | 138.93 |
| Average | 33.73 |
| Highest | 140* |
| 50s | 48 |
| 100s | 5 |
Martin Guptill will play for New Zealand:
Martin Guptill will play for New Zealand in the ICC T20 World Cup this year. Guptill has been on the international circuit for 15 to 16 years. He helped New Zealand reach the ICC ODI World Cup Final in 2015. He was the leading run-getter in the tournament. Martin was also effective in the last T20 World Cup. He played a splendid inning in one of the games dealing with the slow pitches in UAE. He is a good player of spin and can also move the ball around in the middle overs.
| Matches | 293 |
| Runs | 8337 |
| Strike Rate | 131.04 |
| Average | 32.06 |
| Highest | 120* |
| 50s | 52 |
| 100s | 4 |
Honorable Mentions:
- Jonny Bairstow
Jason Roy will open the Batting for England:
Jason Roy will be the top batter for England in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. He has been associated with the England team since 2015. He was the pioneer of the “SLAM-BANG” approach initiated by England after the 2015 ODI World Cup. He plays by the punish or perish mantra. He doesn’t waste the time of the cricket community, either hit or walk away is his style. It works effectively for him.
| Matches | 273 |
| Runs | 7252 |
| Strike Rate | 143.39 |
| Average | 28.75 |
| Highest | 122* |
| 50s | 5 |
| 100s | 49 |
To read more such articles go to ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Top 5 Spinners to Watch Out For.
Read more such articles at ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Top 5 Players to Watch Out For.
To read more such articles go to ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Top 5 Middle-Order Batters for Indian Cricket Team.
