Former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh recommended that India should play Rishabh Pant as the primary wicketkeeper and have Yashasvi Jaiswal partner with skipper Rohit Sharma as the opening batsman in the T20 World Cup next month to ensure left-handed variety in their batting lineup.
With 708 runs in 14 matches this season, Virat Kohli is the top scorer in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He has excelled as the opener for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Yuvraj Singh suggests pairing the right-handed Rohit Sharma with the left-handed Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the batting order, followed by Kohli. Suryakumar Yadav, currently the best T20 batter, is almost certain to remain at number four.
Yuvraj Singh Backs Rishabh Pant Over Sanju Samson for T20 World Cup Spot
“I think Rohit and Jaiswal should definitely open,” Yuvraj, a member of India’s winning T20 World Cup team in 2007, shared his thoughts with the International Cricket Council.
“Virat has been batting at number three (in T20 internationals) and that’s his position. You get Surya at four and then you got a couple of big options.”
“I’d like to see a couple of left-hand, right-hand combinations because it is harder to bowl at two combinations all the time.”
For this reason, despite both wicketkeepers excelling in the IPL, Yuvraj—himself a left-handed batter known for hitting six sixes in one over off England’s Stuart Broad during the 2007 World Cup—would choose Pant over Sanju Samson.
“I’d probably go for Rishabh,” said Yuvraj, who is an ambassador for the June 1-29 tournament in the West Indies and the United States.
“Obviously Sanju is also in great form, but Rishabh (is a) left-hander, and I believe that Rishabh has massive potential to win games for India, which he has done in the past.”
On June 9 in New York, India will begin their Group A campaign against Ireland. Four days later, they will face their fierce rivals, Pakistan.
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