Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra reckons the ongoing five-match T20I series against Australia will be very important for Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Yashasvi Jaiswal. The trio have proved their mettle in the IPL and they will be looking to hit the ground running against Australia.

Kishan is keeping the wickets for India whereas Gaikwad and Jaiswal will open the innings for the hosts. Ishan Kishan has scored 686 runs in 30 T20I matches whereas Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal have scored 277 and 248 runs respectively in T20Is.

With the focus now on the T20 World Cup 2024 after the conclusion ODI World Cup, the young players will look to grab their limited opportunities before big names come back into the team.

“The World Cup team needs to be selected, so this is an opportunity for you, and you won’t get too many chances because you don’t have 25 T20Is before the next World Cup. It’s good if you make the most of these chances, and consolidate your place, or else you will regret it,” Chopra spoke on his YouTube channel.

“This series is important if you see it from that angle. It’s going to be a big question who will open among the three openers – Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal? It could be a make-or-break series for any of the three or all three,” Chopra further added.

All the young Indian players have grabbed their opportunities in the IPL and they will be looking to replicate their impressive show at the top level.

India are bowling first in the first T20I against Australia.

India Squad

Ishan Kishan (w), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar, Washington Sundar, Avesh Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Jitesh Sharma