"I feel Rohit Sharma and Ruturaj Gaikwad should open in this series" - Wasim Jaffer
Former India opener Wasim Jaffer feels captain Rohit Sharma should open the innings alongside Ruturaj Gaikwad in the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka. The Men in Blue are yet to experiment with Rohit and Ruturaj at the top of the order.
Gaikwad made his international 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.
He availed his chance in the final T20I against West Indies in Kolkata, where he opened the innings alongside Ishan Kishan.
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In this regard, 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 absent from the squad, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan lie as the only possible options for Rohit Sharma's partner at the top.
While a couple players are being rested from this series, a couple of players have made their return, among them which includes Ravindra Jadeja. Jaffer feels that the all-rounder will certainly be in the playing XI as the first spinner.
He hopes to see the left-arm spinner partnered with Ravi Bishnoi for this series. Jaffer added:
"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."
Jadeja was last seen in the home series against New Zealand after the T20 World Cup. Following the series, he suffered an injury which forced him to miss the tour of South Africa and the home series against West Indies.
"Sri Lanka's bowlers will pose a threat, especially their spinners" - Wasim Jaffer
Sri Lanka are heading into this series on the back of a 4-1 defeat in the T20Is against Australia away from home. Jaffer noted that the bowling unit will be more efficient in conditions more suited to them.
He reserved praise for Dushmantha Chameera, who will be leading the visitors' bowling attack. Jaffer said:
"Sri Lanka's bowlers will pose a threat, especially their spinners. We saw in the last series that Roston Chase did well. He did not let the Indian batsmen get after him and put the brakes in the middle overs.
"I expect Sri Lanka to play 3 spinners, you might see that because we are playing in Lucknow, the boundaries are very big, so you don't mind playing three spinners, something which is their strength."
Jaffer concluded:
"Even their pacers, like Chameera, he has a lot of tricks up his sleeve and has IPL experience as well. Definitely, the Sri Lankan bowling attack looks more potent than the West Indies."
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India will take on Sri Lanka in the first T20I tomorrow (February 24) at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.