Former Indian cricketers Irfan Pathan and Mohammad Kaif have backed young Yashasvi Jaiswal to be captain Rohit Sharma’s opening partner for India in the upcoming Men’s T20 World Cup to be held in the West Indies and the USA from June 1st. IPL 2024 as an opener for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but him opening with Rohit for India in the T20 World Cup could result in teams having a clash between left-arm fast bowlers and left-arm spinners. However, Pathan believes that opening Jaiswal with Rohit will help India face this clash in the T20 World Cup.
“It’s an issue that has been circulating a lot. It should be Yashasvi Jaiswal – because he is left-handed, what happens is that a team from a bowling point of view will start with a left-arm spinner and when that happens, you can actually play with these two batsmen. If Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli open, as there has been a lot of talk about it, you can keep them quiet for a certain period of time.
“If you do that, it’s game over, especially in the beginning and that’s when a left-handed batsman, Yashasvi Jaiswal, comes into the picture. I think Yashasvi should open with Rohit Sharma,” Pathan said while answering a question from IANS in the latest episode of the show ‘Star Sports Press Room’.
The Rohit-Jaiswal combination, however, will also result in Kohli batting at number three, which would mean that his struggles with spin in the post-power-play phase could resurface. But Kaif believes that Kohli’s stupendous previous success for India in the ICC tournaments at third place is still a very important factor.
“I would see Jaiswal and Rohit opening as Kohli has to be there at number three. Although he opens in IPL, Kohli has done well in ICC events at number three. With Yashasvi opening and Kohli on the bench, there will be pressure on the opposition team that Virat is yet to bat.
“If he opens up and the opponent takes him away, then it will be a huge confidence booster for them. Jaiswal will attack from the first ball and Rohit Sharma also attacks in the power-play, so it should be like this: Jaiswal, Rohit and Virat Kohli at third,” he added.
Pathan, the man of the match in India’s 2007 T20 World Cup final victory over Pakistan in Johannesburg, was disappointed with the non-inclusion of Rinku Singh and Ravi Bishnoi in the 15-member squad. Rinku, India’s in-form finisher in 15 T20Is since making his debut last year, is placed on the traveling reserve.
“I am very disappointed that Rinku Singh is not there. It is because Rinku Singh played a crucial role in finishing the game – he did that for his franchise (Kolkata Knight Riders) last year and when he played for India, he played that role too. “
“When you have a strike rate of 170 and an average close to 60-70, and you don’t get picked, you will be very disappointed. Bishnoi, I thought, despite ranking sixth, loses to a master spinner like Chahal, although he also has that fielding ability. So those were the two things I had in mind when watching this team.
At the same time, Pathan reckons that India need to play aggressive cricket if they want to end a decade-long World Cup winning drought. “The guys who were selected have to play when the pressure comes. I’m not worried about the first half; in the last two World Cups – 50-over and 20-over in Australia – we lost that.”
Kaif agreed with Pathan’s views and felt that India’s real challenge will be to win the qualifiers, something they have not been able to do so far. “They are a very balanced team, but this is not the IPL, where you play 14 league games and come back to win the trophy even after losing games.”
“In the World Cup, you will face weaker teams in the early stages of the tournament until you face teams like Pakistan and England in the semi-finals. You need to win two big matches to win the trophy and are you ready for that big moment? India didn’t do that in the past and that is the real challenge for Rohit Sharma.”
India will begin their Men’s T20 World Cup campaign on June 5 against Ireland at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. India, winners of the 2007 Men’s T20 World Cup, are in Group A alongside Pakistan, Canada and tournament co-hosts the USA.
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