It would be tough for Yashasvi Jaiswal

Harbhajan Singh believes senior batter Virat Kohli should open the batting with skipper Rohit Sharma in India’s 2024 T20 World Cup opener against Ireland in New York on Wednesday, June 5. He opined that Yashasvi Jaiswal, being a youngster, could struggle on the challenging pitch.

The cricketer-turned-commentator suggested that the best bet for Men in Blue would be to have Rohit and Kohli at the top, as the two seasoned campaigners can set a great platform for the rest of the batters.

Harbhajan 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.”

Harbhajan Singh also shared his preferred India playing XI for the side’s opening encounter of the ICC event. He left out left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav and picked three frontline seamers.

Harbhajan’s playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh

“Even an ordinary bowler has looked threatening here” – Harbhajan Singh expects fast bowlers to dominate on New York pitch

Harbhajan Singh also stated that fast bowlers could be India’s trump card in New York. He pointed out how South African pacer Anrich Nortje claimed a stunning four-wicket haul in the side’s contest against Sri Lanka.

“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,” he said in the same video.

Harbhajan also spoke about how players will have to be careful while playing in New York, given that there is a chance of getting injured due to the excess sand. He reckoned that there might be pain in the calves of the cricketers after a couple of games at the venue.

“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.

The India-Ireland match at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York will begin at 8:00 PM (IST).