“It would be tough for Yashasvi Jaiswal” – Harbhajan Singh explains why Virat Kohli should open in IND vs IRE 2024 T20 World Cup match

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh reckons it will be tough for Yashasvi Jaiswal to open the innings in difficult conditions against Ireland in the team’s opener of the T20 World Cup. Singh reckons India needs its two best batters – Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – to open the innings against Ireland.

Jaiswal didn’t play in the warm-up match against Bangladesh and thus the think tank indicated that he could miss the opening game. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli scored 741 runs in 15 innings at an average of 61.75 and a strike rate of 154.69 in IPL 2024. Kohli ended the tournament as the highest run-getter and bagged the Orange Cap award. Thus, he played an instrumental role in taking RCB to the playoffs.

On the other hand, Rohit Sharma was Mumbai Indians’ top-scorer with 417 runs in 14 matches of IPL 2024 as he scored his runs at an average of 32.08 and a strike rate of 150. 

The New York pitch isn’t easy for batting and Sri Lanka was skittled out for a paltry score of 77 runs against South Africa on Monday.

Harbhajan Singh said on his YouTube Channel, “Batting is going to be difficult on this pitch. You need your big players in such situations and Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should open. The platform that they can set, I feel it would be tough for Yashasvi Jaiswal to do the same in these conditions.”

The former off-spinner from Punjab feels the fast bowlers will also hold the key along with the spinners as the conditions are conducive for the bowlers.

“When I was in India, I said that spinners would play a big role in this T20 World Cup. However, after arriving here, I feel that while spinners will be useful, the fast bowlers will be in the game every single ball on this pitch. We saw what Anrich Nortje did in that spell. Even an ordinary bowler has looked threatening here.”

Harbhajan noted that the pitch has variable bounce, which makes it difficult for the batters to get set. Furthermore, he observed that the outfield isn’t great and thus the players should be cautious.

“From what I have seen in India’s warm-up match and the game between Sri Lanka and South Africa, there is a variable bounce on the pitch, making it difficult for batters to get set. Also, it is a sandy ground, which is why I feel a lot of players could feel some pain in their calves after one or two matches. The players will have to be very cautious while playing here,” he added.

India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 5th.