Rohit-Jaiswal to open for IND in T20 WC 2024? New speculation arises following Gill's omission
Yashasvi Jaiswal replaced Shubman Gill in India's Round 11 match for the second T20I against Afghanistan.
New Delhi: The Indian management on January 14 dropped Shubman Gill and Tilak Varma from the Indian playing 11 for the 2nd T20I between the Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team and Ibrahim Zadran's Afghanistan at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. This has led to fresh speculation that Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal will be the new Indian opening pair heading into the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Yashasvi Jaiswal could not play the first T20I in Mohali due to right groin soreness. However, both he and Virat Kohli made their way into the playing 11 after becoming available for selection. On the other hand, Gill, who opened for India in the previous match, could not convert the start he got into a big score.
The management's decision to field Rohit and Jaiswal in the second match makes people believe that this could be BCCI's plan for Indian openers heading into the 2024 T20 World Cup and this could make things very difficult for Gill.
'We're going bowling first. No special reason. Just the nature of the ground, especially the small boundaries. The things we talked about in our meeting, we were able to bring out and implement in the first game. We asked specific roles from the boys and they played accordingly. Not much, they have no baggage and it's about supporting them, letting them be free on the ground. We will do everything with the World Cup in mind, but we know that results are also important. Kohli and Jaiswal back for Gill and Tilak,” Rohit said at the toss.
It is possible that India went for the left and right combination. However, nothing has been confirmed if this is the end of the road for Gill in the T20 World Cup. Even Team India head coach Rahul Dravid said in the pre-series press conference that performance in IPL will be one of the key factors behind selection in the 2024 T20 World Cup squad as IND vs AFG is the final T20I assignment for the Men in Blue. prior to the mega tournament.