though dravid

T20 World Cup: With India head coach Rahul Dravid confirming that Yashasvi Jaiswal will open the batting with captain Rohit Sharma for the T20Is against Afghanistan, former left-handed batter Suresh Raina backed the move, adding that Virat Kohli should bat at number three when he joins the team after the series opener in Mohali.

Though Dravid hasn’t ruled out the possibility of Rohit and Kohli opening the batting on the eve of the T20I series opener, having an attacking left-handed opener in Jaiswal is an asset for the side looking to embrace an aggressive style of batting. In recent times, Jaiswal has set the agenda in the power-play by attacking from the word go and putting the opposition bowlers under pressure.

Since his T20I debut against West Indies in August 2023, Jaiswal’s power-play strike-rate stands at 158.69 in 14 innings. Shubman Gill’s strike rate in power-plays of T20I stands at a pale 114.63, while that of Rohit and Virat stands at 134.24 and 116.75 respectively, which tells the tremendous impact Jaiswal can have as an opener for India, especially in the first six overs.