Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif said he would give preference to Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul as the opening pair ahead of the Boxing Day Test against Australia, starting at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Thursday. Though Jaiswal has blown hot and cold in the series, barring a majestic 161 at Perth, Rahul has been India’s leading run-getter in the ongoing tour, scoring 235 runs from six innings at an impressive average of 47, including hitting two half-centuries.

Despite various reports alleging Rohit Sharma could be back to opening and Rahul being pushed to number three, Kaif has voiced his support in not disturbing the Jaiswal-Rahul pairing at the top.

“KL Rahul is doing a great job, while Jaiswal hit a hundred too. When Jaiswal plays, then India wins the Test match. He’s a player whose type is like Sehwag. When he plays, he’ll dominate with such speed that he’ll bring the Test match to one side and win it. Through him, India gets a lot of advantage from there.”

“So I’ll keep Jaiswal there, while KL Rahul is playing by taking his time and building a proper opening partnership. For someone who’s scored tons in Australia, England, South Africa, you can’t write off that player. He’s scored previously on these bouncy pitches, so you want to give him a preference first,” said Kaif in a video posted on his ‘X’ account on Wednesday.

With the five-match series currently locked at 1-1, Kaif thinks the equation is still even stevens and that India can win the game in Melbourne if they get their biggest nemesis Travis Head out quickly. At the same time, Kaif cautioned Indian batters about facing seamer Scott Boland, who picked five wickets in Adelaide, where Australia won by ten wickets.

“No, I believe that the Test series is going on at an equal level. Even though the form of Indian batting is not great, a lot of the players are out of form, but on the same boat, there’s also an Australian team. If you get out Travis Head, you’ll win the Test match, because we have got Bumrah. If Travis Head is out, then even with out-of-form batting, the Indian team can win this series.”

“The way their batters have got out caught behind, and their openers are nicking behind, so there’s a big problem with their batting. Barring Travis Head, you can see Labuschagne has been dismissed twice outside the off-stump by Nitish Reddy. So, in batting, the Australian team is far behind. In bowling, Boland will definitely take 2-3 wickets and trouble the Indian bowlers. I’m telling you right now,” he concluded.

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