Rating the Indian openers ahead of the 2019 World Cup

KL Rahul - 7/10

Rahul needs to work on his fitness if he hopes to break the Dhawan-Rohit partnership

KL Rahul got off to the perfect start to his ODI career, a century on debut, a feat no Indian had achieved before him. But since then a combination of injuries and the return to fitness of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan has meant that he has only played six ODIs in total. However, even in those games, he has an average in excess of 50.

His only three ODIs in 2017, all came against England and things didn't really go according to plan. However, he does have all the shots in the book and some that aren't in the book as well. His performance in IPL 2016 showed that he is capable of scoring quickly and big as well. All he now needs to do is ensure that he is fit on a consistent basis.

If there is one thing that has hindered his progress in the ODI side, it has been his fitness, which has reduced the number of appearances he has made. And that is one area where he will look to improve in the hope of breaking the settled opening pair of Dhawan and Rohit and getting a place in the ODI side ahead of the World Cup.