“This was missing in the last T20 World Cup” - Wasim Jaffer on India’s aggressive batting approach in 1st T20I vs England

Former opener Wasim Jaffer has praised Team India over their aggressive batting approach in the first T20I against England in Southampton. According to him, this kind of positive intent was missing from India’s T20 World Cup campaign in the UAE last year.

The Men in Blue crushed England by 50 runs in the opening T20I of the three-match series. Batting first, they put up an impressive 198/8 on the board. They were extremely aggressive in the powerplay, reaching 66/2 after six overs. The bowlers then bundled England out for 148.

Reviewing India’s triumph in the first T20I, Wasim Jaffer termed their aggression with the bat as the most impressive aspect of their performance. Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, he said:

“You’ve got to like the way they accelerated and the momentum they batted with. This was missing in the last T20 World Cup all the time. They are going with that aggressive approach, which is very refreshing to see.”

Pandya top-scored for India with 51 off 33 balls in what was his maiden T20I fifty. There were solid contributions from Suryakumar Yadav (39 off 19), Deepak Hooda (33 off 17) and skipper Rohit Sharma (24 off 14) as well.

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“Something we would like to see from the main guys as well” - Wasim Jaffer on positive batting

With Virat Kohli coming back into the team, Hooda will most likely have to sit out the next two games. While admitting that the new guys will have to make way for the experienced ones, Wasim Jaffer cautioned India against changing their approach. He explained:

“The big guys who are missing, KL Rahul (after recovering from injury) and Virat, are going to come back. But India will be happy that they have got the guys to back them up. However, the approach needs to be similar.”

He added:

“This is the brand of cricket they need to play if they want to dominate this format. This is something we would like to see from the main guys as well.”

Wasim Jaffer asserted that Hooda’s success might just inspire Kohli to bring out his A game and elaborated:

“Hooda’s performance will put pressure on Virat Kohli when he comes back. You’ve got a guy who has done so well, performed consistently in the IPL and the T20Is as well. The pressure might bring out the best of Virat Kohli.”

In his short T20I career, Hooda has scored 205 runs in six matches at an average of 68.33 and a strike rate of 172.26.