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

#4 Sunrisers Hyderabad: Jonny Bairstow

Jonny Bairstow in action for England

Unlike the other players in this list, the choice here cannot be called as a complete shocker considering the fact that Jonny Bairstow is already an opener for his national side and will not be completely new to this role. However, the reason why we call this as a surprising choice is because of the minimal chances of this happening.

In all likelihood, one of Wriddhiman Saha or Shreevats Goswami is likely to open the innings alongside David Warner, freeing up a slot for an overseas player in the XI. But, SRH does have the liberty of testing Bairstow at the top courtesy of the unavailability of Kane Williamson for the initial few games and the injury of Shakib Al Hasan which will keep him out for a while. If given an opportunity, Bairstow could end up making the opening slot his own for times to come.

#5 Royal Challengers Bangalore: Washington Sundar

Washington Sundar could be a surprise weapon in

store

Kohli has mentioned in an interview that the reason for his team's failure is attributed to the bad decisions made rather than the potential of players involved. One such bad decision he could end up rectifying this time around is by promoting Washington Sundar up the order. After a tremendous season, he had with the bat as a part of the Tamil Nadu Premier League previous year (2017), many fans out there expected Kohli to try this player at the top.

Sundar opened the innings for TUTI Patriots and ended the tournament as the leading scorer with 459 runs in 9 matches at an astounding average of 76.50. Maybe it is time for Kohli and the RCB management to consider Sundar as an opener so that Kohli can have an attacking option at the other end when he gets out to open for RCB this year.

#6 Delhi Capitals: Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer would be eyeing the No.4 spot in Indian ODI team

Like Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals too comprise of many players who can open the innings in the shorter format. While the likes of Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Colin Munro, and Shikhar Dhawan are natural choices for the openers slot, there is one player in the XI who could take up the role if his team requires it.

Shreyas Iyer would enter this season as a full-time skipper hoping to build his team back from the poor outing they had in IPL 2018. This could even tempt him to open the innings alongside seasoned campaigner Shikhar Dhawan if the situation demands. But that looks like a least possible scenario considering the fact that he would also be eyeing the No.4 spot in the Indian ODI team.

If anyone doubts his hitting abilities, we would recommend them to watch the game between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders last year where he scored a quick fire 93 runs in just 40 balls that included 3 boundaries and 10 maximums.