IPL 2019: Players who could shockingly open the innings for each franchise

#2 Mumbai Indians: Anmolpreet Singh

Anmolpreet Singh in action for India U19

There are as many as 5 tested opening options available for Mumbai Indians in Quinton de Kock, Evin Lewis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, and Rohit Sharma. With the MI captain declaring that he will open the innings in all the games this season, four other players will be fighting it out for the remaining slot. So, it almost looks uncertain that the youngster from Punjab would get a chance to open the innings.

But, in case if Mumbai Indians' management decides to pull out a surprise by sending in Anmolpreet to open alongside Rohit Sharma, we may call it as a tactful decision rather than a bold one. Considering the experience he has in the domestic circuit, he could end up being a very good choice thereby allowing MI to play an extra overseas all-rounder or a bowler in place of Lewis who is likely to slot in as the opener.

#3 Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill made his debut against New Zealand this year

For those who are unaware of the name Shubman Gill, he is a young prodigy from Punjab who was the leading run scorer in the U19 ICC Cricket World Cup in 2018. He was also named a man of the series for his superb performance. This classy batsman received his maiden ODI cap this year when he debuted against New Zealand in the month of January.

Although his debut at international level did not go as he would have wished, he has a lot of potential to become one of India's future prospects. He did show a glimpse of it in the last IPL season where he scored a total of 203 runs at an average of 33.83 and a decent strike-rate of 146.04. It should be noted that he was predominantly playing in the lower middle order where he got limited time to settle.

Like the case with Sunil Narine, it would be interesting to see if the KKR management sees the potential in Gill and allows him to open alongside Chris Lynn or Sunil Narine, which would make for a classy and attacking combination.