"Yashasvi looks slightly ahead to me" - Aakash Chopra on choosing between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad for India's T20 World Cup squad

Aakash Chopra reckons Yashasvi Jaiswal is slightly ahead of Ruturaj Gaikwad in the race for an opener's berth in India's T20 World Cup squad.

With the likes of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill being rested for the recently concluded T20I series against Australia, Jaiswal and Gaikwad batted at the top of the order in all five games. The two youngsters have also been picked in the Indian T20I squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra was asked his first choice between Jaiswal and Gaikwad for India's T20 World Cup squad, to which he replied (3:15):

"I am thinking about a left-right combination. I feel it has more importance in T20s because you have only six (powerplay) overs and you have to maximize them. There is no doubt you can have two right-handers, Shubman (Gill) and Rohit (Sharma) have been playing together. Rohit and Ruturaj can also play together."

The former India opener added:

"There is no problem with that but there is an advantage with left-right. In ODIs, you have time, you can play one or two overs cautiously. You need to start in T20s like Vande Bharat Express or the Shatabdi. Then you have brighter chances to post a huge total. So Yashasvi looks slightly ahead to me."

Gaikwad, with 223 runs at an excellent strike rate of 159.28, was the top run-getter in the T20I series between India and Australia. Jaiswal was slightly more explosive, with his 138 runs coming at a strike rate of 168.29.

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"I personally feel Yashasvi Jaiswal" - Aakash Chopra

Yashasvi Jaiswal was at his belligerent best in IPL 2023. [P/C: iplt20.com]

While acknowledging that performances in IPL 2024 could be the deciding factor, Aakash Chopra cast his vote for Yashasvi Jaiswal. He said (4:00):

"However, it (the T20 World Cup) is still six months away. You need an extremely good IPL. If that is not good, all the talk will be worthless. I personally feel Yashasvi Jaiswal."

The cricketer-turned-commentator observed that Ruturaj Gaikwad is being looked at as an all-format player. However, he reiterated that Jaiswal has a slight edge over him in the shortest format. He stated:

"Ruturaj Gaikwad - outstanding cricketer. He is part of all three formats for the South Africa tour but if I see only the T20 format, I feel Yashasvi is slightly ahead because of the way he plays."

Jaiswal smashed 625 runs at an outstanding strike rate of 163.61 in 14 innings in IPL 2023. Ruturaj was also at his prolific best, amassing 590 runs in 15 innings, albeit at a slightly lower strike rate of 147.50.