Former India Stars Back Yashasvi Jaiswal To Be Rohit Sharma's Opening Partner In T20 World Cup 2024

Former India 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 West Indies and USA from June 1. Kohli has been leading run-charts in the 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 left-arm fast-bowler and left-arm spinner match-up. However, Pathan thinks Jaiswal opening with Rohit will help India tackle this match-up in the T20 World Cup.

"It's a question which has been floating around a lot. It should be Yashasvi Jaiswal - as he being a left-hander, what happens is, a team from a bowling point of view, will start with a left-arm spinner and when that happens, you can actually play these two batters. If Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli open, as there's been a lot of talk about it, you can keep them quiet for a certain period of time.

"If you do that, the game goes away, especially at the start and this is where a left-handed batter in Yashasvi Jaiswal comes into the picture. He's aggressive and will take on the threat of left-arm spinner as well. So, I think Yashasvi should open with Rohit Sharma," said Pathan while replying to an IANS query in the latest episode of 'Star Sports Press Room' show.

The Rohit-Jaiswal combination though, will also result in Kohli batting at number three, which would mean his struggles against spin in the post power-play phase could resurface. But Kaif believes Kohli's previous stupendous success for India in ICC tournaments at number three is still a very big factor.

"I would see Jaiswal and Rohit opening, as Kohli has to be there at number three. Though he opens in