10 Indian players who opened the batting as a jugaad

3. Irfan Pathan

His stint at the top was very much like his career – an emphatic start which fizzled away into oblivion. In the first innings in which he was pushed at the top, Irfan Pathan scored a brilliant 93 against Sri Lanka in Delhi. However, the Indians were clear that it was a stop-gap arrangement and they do not want to overburden Pathan.

He was definitely not going to be a long-term opener and the fact that his next three attempts at the top produced just 15 runs ensured that Irfan the batsman didn’t over-shadow the bowler in him. That the bowler who promised a lot with his top class skill gradually became a mere shadow of himself is a story for another day.

4. Deep Dasgupta

After one game at number 7, Dasgupta was thrown at the deep end. He responded well with a fifty in his very first Test as an opener in trying conditions of South Africa. He quickly followed it up with a hundred against England at Mohali in his very next innings and another fifty in the next match at Ahmedabad.

However, a string of moderate scores and India’s fetish for chop and change saw him getting dropped in the West Indies for another jugaad in the form of Sanjay Bangar. He also played just one game in that series before Wasim Jaffer took over. While Bangar played some more matches, Dasgupta didn’t play a Test match again.