"You definitely need a left-right combination at the top" - Matthew Hayden suggests India open with Virat Kohli & Yashasvi Jaiswal in T20 World Cup

Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden feels India shouldn't go with the opening combination of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma at the T20 World Cup, which is to be played in the West Indies and the USA in June. Kohli has been in sensational form in IPL 2024 and many believe that he needs to open with Rohit as this role gets the best out of the former Indian captain in the shortest format.

However, speaking on Star Sports, Matthew Hayden opined that if India wants to open with Virat Kohli, they should continue the left-hand right-hand combination by using Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top. He said:

"You definitely need a left-right combination at the top. If you have to make a change in that combination (Rohit & Jaiswal), I would be very happy if you would tell me if I could open with Kohli and Jaiswal, I would have said absolutely yes."

Hayden then claimed that he would have Suryakumar Yadav at No. 3 and captain Rohit Sharma down to No. 4, a role which the latter has done quite a lot in the IPL for the Mumbai Indians over the years.

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Matthew Hayden explains the reason for his Indian top-four

Matthew Hayden believes India can get the best out of Kohli as an opener and the power game of Suryakumar Yadav and Rohit Sharma can come to the fray once the fielding restrictions are lifted post powerplay. Here's what he stated:

"The reason I say that is Virat is a master of the first six. And once the power hitting comes into play, there are other great options including Rohit. Look at his figures at No. 4, they are superb. Those are better than his opening numbers."

In 86 innings at No. 4 in the IPL, Rohit has scored 2,392 runs at an average of 32.76 and a strike rate of 128.67.