Whenever there is a Test series goes on in Australia against India, most of the pundits of the game go on to pick the latter’s former captain, Virat Kohli, to do well in the red-ball games. But before the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, the story has been different, as the former left-handed opener, Matthew Hayden, has picked an interesting player to watch out for.
The young left-handed dynamic opening batter of the national side, Yashasvi Jaiswal, has started on a strong note in the longest format of the game, having collected 1028 runs in just nine games at an average of nearly 70, with the help of four half-centuries and three centuries at a best score of unbeaten 214 runs.
In the recently concluded five-match home series against England, he was the leading run-getter with over 700 runs in nine innings, at an average of 89 and a strike rate of around 90, celebrating three fifties and a couple of centuries.
Matthew Hayden warns Yashasvi Jaiswal of technical aspects in Australia
The former left-handed opening batter for Australia, Matthew Hayden, has been a huge admirer of Jaiswal but feels that to do well in those bouncy conditions, the youngster needs to make some adjustments in his game.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how he adjusts, you know, and bouncy tracks.” The veteran told at the CEAT awards in Mumbai.
Also Read: Piyush Chawla Reveals How Sachin Tendulkar And Virender Sehwag Helped Him On Debut
The Uttar Pradesh-born Indian opener didn’t enjoy a great time in South Africa towards the end of the last year as he returned with only 50 runs in four innings, having struggled so much against the pace and bounce in both the red-ball games.
Jaiswal loves to be aggressive, which means he plays a lot of shots on the rise, riding on the bounce, and driving through the cover region. It could be a useful shot in Australia as the former greats for the Blue Brigade- VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar used to do, but Matthew Hayden has warned to be careful while playing the shot.
“His ability, in particular, to get on the up through the covers is phenomenal. That will also have its vulnerabilities.” The Queensland-born expressed during the function.
As much as the bowlers need to pick 20 wickets in a game to win the Test match, it also becomes vital for the batters to score runs freely. India hasn’t lost a Test series against Australia since losing the trophy in 2014 and will be keen to continue the same record for a long time.
Matthew Hayden has noticed that Yashasvi while playing the pull shot, makes it comfortable without even bothering to transfer his rightfully onto the backfoot.
“We did notice a few times in the IPL that he’s a very hard hitter of the ball, pull shots in particular. But that will be challenged by three world-class speedsters, assuming they’re all fit. And on much bigger grounds as well.” The 52-year-old mentioned during the conversation.
The shots, which have given him so much could end up being the weakness at the end of a long trip. There were instances where a pull shot out of control for Yashasvi Jaiswal caused problems for the South Africa trip.
Also Read: Matthew Hayden Advises Rahul Dravid To Manage Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma Calmly
“It has to almost be the perfect contact for that ball to sail over six. So you can get caught easily, three-quarters of the way in the fence. So they have little adjustments that world-class players like Jazzy (Jaiswal) will have to make.” Matthew Hayden explained.
The opening game of the five-match series will begin at the Optus Stadium in Perth before they move to Adelaide and Gabba for the second and third games, respectively. The Boxing Day and New Year’s red-ball games will take place in Melbourne and Sydney.