Yashasvi Jaiswal was picked over Shubman Gill for the opener’s role in the T20 World Cup 2024. But the youngster could not feature in the playing XI as Virat Kohli opened for India throughout the tournament. But the southpaw was in marauding form in Tests as the India opener smashed 712 runs in nine innings against England in 2023 at an impressive average of 89.
Moreover, the 22-year-old scored two consecutive double centuries in the second and third Test in Visakhapatnam and Rajkot respectively. Although the batter grabbed eyeballs, he was viewed through a skeptical lens on his ability to flourish in swinging conditions abroad. As India are braced to face Australia in a five-match Test series in November, former Australia batter, Matthew Hayden is keen on seeing how Jaiswal adjusts on bouncy tracks.
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“I think he’s a package…Yes, his strokeplay is superb. His ability, in particular, to hit on the up through the covers is phenomenal. [But] that’ll also have its vulnerabilities. I’m looking forward to seeing how he adjusts on bouncy tracks. We did notice a few times in the IPL that he’s a very hard hitter of the ball – [with the] pull shots in particular,” Hayden said as quoted by India Today.
Jaiswal was underwhelming with the bat when India toured South Africa in December 2023. In four innings, he scored just 50 runs, with the highest score of just 28 runs. He was dismissed twice by Nandre Burger in the first Test and his second dismissal was off a short delivery. In the second innings of the subsequent Test, he was dismissed by Burger again off short delivery. Hayden highlighted that the UP batter tackling the pace trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood, will be crucial.
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“But that’ll be challenged by three world-class speedsters, assuming they’re all fit, and on much bigger grounds as well – grounds where it has to almost be the perfect contact for that ball to sail over for six. You can get caught easily, three-quarters of the way in the fence. So they have little adjustments that world-class players like Jaiswal will make for sure,” Hayden added.
