T20 World Cup 2024: The Reason Behind Yashasvi Jaiswal's Exclusion, Explained By Aakash Chopra

Former India batter Aakash Chopra has explained why he believes Yashasvi Jaiswal will not be in the India playing XI for the T20 World Cup 2024.

India is set to play Ireland in the first match of their campaign on Wednesday at the Nassau County Cricket Stadium in New York.

Ahead of that, former player Aakash Chopra has streamlined his predicted playing XI, which doesn't include Yashasvi Jaiswal. The youngster burst onto the scene last year and has been a consistent performer, but Chopra revealed the reason why Jaiswal won't find a place in the team.

"Virat Kohli will start with Rohit Sharma, which means there's no place for Yashasvi Jaiswal. At No. 3, Rishabh Pant has a big chance to play because India needs a left-hander. The hope was to have a left-hander open the innings with Yashasvi playing, but they won't keep him in the XI because only one between him and Shivam Dube can play and they're going with Dube," Chopra said.

"This means Suryakumar Yadav will be at four. Depending on the next wicket, if a left-hander falls, it'll be Shivam Dube next. If a right-hander falls, it'll be Hardik Pandya next, that's your six. At seven and eight, I think it'll be Jadeja and Axar Patel. After that, you'll have Kuldeep Yadav who should 100% play. Then the two fast bowlers, Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah. Arshdeep bowled really well in the first warmup game and Bumrah is Bumrah. That's the playing XI I see," he added.

On the approach against Ireland, Chopra also revealed that the pacers would come all guns blazing and rattle the European side early. He believes if India manages to start the game well irrespective of batting or bowling, they will be ahead in the game.

"The pitch in New York has shown that the ball has been acting up. If the ball is acting up, I expect them to take a few wickets early on, whether it's Bumrah or Arshdeep. Take two or three in the powerplay and you'll feel like the contest is in your favour. Whenever you look at teams like Ireland and Scotland, it's crucial to start well. Bowl well with the new ball and bat well with the new ball," he added.

Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah.