'Old' challenge the 'new' in battle of openers for Team India

Five men will be competing for the coveted Team India openers' slots as the new cricket season is all set to start. It will be a test of skill, talent and the ability to impress with consistent performances that should matter at the end of the day.

With a packed international cricket calendar coming up for the Indian team, the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Murali Vijay, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag will be eying the right to open the batting. (Read: Rohit Sharma confident of breaking into Test team)

For Sehwag and Gambhir, Mission Comeback starts in October second week as they have been named on the India A squad to play West Indies A in a four-day match at Hubli. Gambhir is already playing County cricket for Essex while Sehwag is training at the MRF Pace Academy in Chennai.

Even though Sharma and Dhawan have firmly established themselves as India's first-choice openers for ODIs and T20s, Sehwag and Gambhir will eye the seven ODIs against the Australians in October-November to break into the playing XI once again. So the heat will on Sharma and Dhawan to deliver.

Dhawan and Sharma have scored runs aplenty both at home and overseas. Dhawan was the highest run-getter in the ICC Champions Trophy and on August 12, butchered South Africa 'A' with his 248 in a List A (50 overs) match in Pretoria.

"It was like watching a highlights package. He hit so many good shots, it's hard to pick out one that stood out," South Africa A skipper Justin Ontong had said on Dhawan's innings. The ferocity of his batting character and the sheer volume of shots in his arsenal can help Dhawan almost certainly seal a spot up at the top. He in fact recently said that it was his desire to bat better than Gambhir and Sehwag that helped. "When I used to see Viru bhai (Sehwag) or Gautam bhai (Gambhir) playing for India, I always used to think that I have to play better than them. Only then, I could create a chance for myself."

In recent times however, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has shown a lot of faith in Sharma's batting at the top as well. "He (Dhoni) thinks I have the ability to open the batting and counter the new ball. I'm glad he finds me capable of it and I've also been working hard on it," Sharma was quoted as saying by a national daily.

What may have worked in Sharma's favour is the Mumbai batsman's new-found form and an equally new strategy of not fretting about the number of runs scored in each innings. "It (opening) is about how mentally strong you are, what kind of pressure you manage to take and deliver. I have worked on a lot of changes and gradually inculcated them," Sharma said.  

The veteran Delhi pair of Sehwag and Gambhir could still spoil the Sharma-Dhawan party. Thrown a lifeline by being picked in the squad named against West Indies 'A', both batsmen can make the most of their chances against an inexperienced side on batting-friendly tracks. With a total of 398 ODIs between them, experience too will count for a lot as they attempt to put up a brave face against the younger players.

"I am not someone who runs away from competition. It's good to have competition in every field, whether in cricket or any other profession because it gets the best out of you," Gambhir recently told NDTV when asked about Dhawan and Sharma's recent form. (Read full interview here)

Another batsman who will be on guard will be Vijay, India's erstwhile go-to guy when the front-line batsmen were injured.  With a string of good performances against Australia, the Tamil Nadu opener too is keen to grab a spot at the top despite Gambhir and Sehwag returning to the fray.

"It's not about competing with others, if I can play my game to the best of my ability, I will be happy," he was recently quoted as saying. Although he played a secondary-role to Dhawan against South Africa 'A' and Australia 'A', Vijay did manage a fifty and several solid performances to show that he remains in the race for the top-spot in the Indian team.

With ability and experience available in plenty, it's a nice headache to have for the national selectors. With the first ODI against Australia scheduled on October 10 in Rajkot and lot of international cricket to come in the next 12 months, it's surely going to make, break or revive a few careers.