India's Top 5 Test Match Openers of All Time 

#4 Navjot Singh Sidhu: (1983-1999)

Matches: 51, Runs: 3202, Highest Score: 201, Average: 42.13, Centuries: 9

Navjot Sidhu was one of the most successful Indian Test match openers of all time. He had a long and illustrious career,which was full of ups and downs. He started off in 1983 as an opener, who was very defensive. However over the years, he transformed himself into one of the biggest six hitters, especially against spinners.

He hit spinners like Warne and Muralidharan out of the park with ease. Sidhu's six hitting in Test matches was something new for Indian cricket. It helped in breaking the confidence of the rival spinners and paved the way for the middle order to score big runs. Sidhu also had a double century against a strong West Indies pace attack in West Indies. However Sidhu's main problem was his inability to score big runs outside the subcontinent. As a result, he was always in and out of the team and hence could not do justice to his potential.