IND vs SL: Rohit Sharma And Ruturaj Gaikwad Should Open For India Against Sri Lanka In T20I- Wasim Jaffer

Former India opener Wasim Jaffer feels captain Rohit Sharma should open the innings alongside Ruturaj Gaikwad in the upcoming three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. The Men in Blue are yet to experiment with Rohit and Ruturaj at the top of the order.

He played one match, the third T20I against West Indies, where he opened with Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma batted at no.4. Gaikwad had made his India debut on last year’s tour of Sri Lanka following an impressive set of outings in the first leg of IPL 2021. The Orange Cap winner then proceeded to receive call-ups for the tour of South Africa and the home series against West Indies.

Jaffer feels that it is time for Indian team management to give a chance to Ruturaj Gaikwad at the top since Ishan Kishan hasn’t looked that good in the three matches he played against West Indies.

Jaffer said on ESPNCricinfo: “I feel Rohit Sharma and Ruturaj Gaikwad should open in this series especially because India tried out Ishan Kishan last time and he did not have a good series. It’s time India gives Ruturaj a lengthy run, like three games or two games at least. So, I think Rohit and Ruturaj should open in a couple of games at least.”

With KL Rahul unavailable due to injury, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan are the only possible options for Rohit Sharma’s partner at the top. Or it is possible that Rohit Sharma plays in the middle order in order to compensate for the absence of both Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant and let Ruturaj and Kishan open the innings.

I Would Like To See How Ravi Bishnoi Performs. Ravindra Jadeja Obviously Plays: Wasim Jaffer

The former India opener who played 31 Tests and 2 ODIs from 2000- 2008, further talked about the bowling combination for India in the Sri Lanka series and said that it is obvious that Ravindra Jadeja will return to the playing XI and it will be a tossup between Ravi Bishnoi and Yuzvendra Chahal as the second spinner in the XI.

However, Jaffer said that he hopes to see the left-arm spinner partnered with Ravi Bishnoi for this series.

“Ravindra Jadeja obviously plays. He comes into the side, so he is one of the spinners. It will be a toss-up between Chahal and Bishnoi. At this point in time, I would like to see how Bishnoi performs, so I would give him a go at the start because Chahal is a seasoned player, so he is not somebody who is at test.

You need to test a guy like Bishnoi and see how he performs because I expect the Sri Lanka players to play spin better. It would be a good challenge to see how he performs in this series,” Jaffer said.

The first T20I between India and Sri Lanka will be played on February 24 in the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, in Lucknow.

Also Read: IND vs SL: Keep Your Head Down And Keep Doing Your Job – Rohit Sharma To Indian Test Team Contenders