All The Top-Order Options India Has For T20 World Cup 2021

The T20 World Cup is just around the corner and the teams have narrowed down their probable squad that will be picked for the tournament. 

Considering the Indian team, it has plenty of options to choose from for every position - top-order, middle-order, all-rounders, and bowlers. With India going to Sri Lanka in July, the management is expected to pick every player who is amongst the probables for the World Cup since most of the regulars will be in England for the test tour. 

Let's take a look at the options available for India in the top-order(1-3 position) in the upcoming World Cup: 

1) Shikhar Dhawan - The lefty opener has been in and out of the T20I squad for a while due to his inconsistent returns. However, he has strengthened his case after his exploits in the IPL 2021. In the eight games he played in the 2021 season, Dhawan scored 380 runs at a strike rate of over 134. His consistent talks about improving the strike rate endorse his mindset about how to go about things in the T20 format. 

2) KL Rahul - He is more or less confirmed to play in the World Cup due to his ability to score runs at will and play at any position. Despite a poor series against England, Rahul returned to his best in the IPL scoring 331 runs in seven innings. The wicketkeeper-batsman's acceleration rate in the death overs is something any team cannot ignore. 

3) Prithvi Shaw - The righty opener has been in exceptional form in the limited-overs format. He picked up his form in Vijay Hazare Trophy earlier this year breaching the 800-run mark which included a double ton as well. Shaw continued his fine touch with the bat in IPL where he scored 308 runs in eight innings. He was almost impossible to stop especially in the powerplay where India hasn't done well in the recent past.  

4) Devdutt Padikkal - Another lefty opener who is currently in a rich form in the limited-overs format. Padikkal impressed everyone in his debut season in IPL last year with 473 runs. In Vijay Hazare Trophy, the 20-year-old smacked four centuries to become the second-highest run-scorer - 737. Padikkal even smashed a century in the IPL 2021 in an unbeaten partnership with Indian and RCB captain Virat Kohli. 

5) Sanju Samson - The wicketkeeper-batsman has been in and around the Indian team for a while now. Samson even played three T20Is in Australia in November last year. There is no doubt about his ability to hit and can win matches single-handedly on his day. However, one thing which might stop him is consistency. 

6) Mayank Agarwal - Widely regarded for opening in test matches for India, Agarwal has been a proven limited-overs batsman. He has been brilliant as an opener for the past two years in IPL for Punjab Kings. In this season as well, he played a brilliant inning of 99* to keep his chances of getting in the squad. 

7) Ishan Kishan - Another wicketkeeper-batsman who has been in impressive run-of-form. He made an impressive debut for India earlier this year where he scored a quick-fire fifty. However, his poor outings in the IPL 2021 saw him getting benched after five games in which he scored just 73 at an alarming strike rate of 83. 

Apart from these few players, India already has one opener confirmed - Rohit Sharma. However, Apart from Rohit, the squad will be also picked considering Virat Kohli as an opener in World Cup. 

With an abundance of talent ready to get its chances in the team, Indian management will have to take a few harsh calls to pick a balanced squad.