The Champions Trophy is less than a week away but no team has a steady opening pair. Read The Times of India for more.

Only three pairs have opened in more than 10 One-dayers in the past one year: Australia's Gilchrist and Katich, Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga for Sri Lanka, and South Africa's Graeme Smith and Boeta Dippenaar.

Even in the not-so-recent past, most teams could boast of a recognised opening pair. That has now whittled down to only one steady option for most teams, and most managements are playing Russian roulette in an attempt to pin down a steady partner for that opener, who is, in most cases, a tried and tested veteran.