Yashasvi Jaiswal's struggles against left-arm pacers laid bare in bold assessment: ‘Not a Mitchell Starc problem’

The former cricketer observed that it was not the first time Jaiswal had struggled against left-arm pacers and pointed out that it happened in IPL, too.

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has pointed out Yashasvi Jaiswal's struggles against left-arm pacers, which were exposed in the ongoing Test series against Australia. Jaiswal, who scored a century at Perth, failed to make an impact in the last two Tests, where he was dismissed twice by Mitchell Starc in the first over.

Australia's bowler Mitchell Starc (C) celebrates the wicket of India's Yashasvi Jaiswal (L) with teammates on day three of the third Test match. (AFP)

The left-handed batter looked in a hurry to score boundaries in the first over and made poor shot selection as a result Starc got the better of him early on a couple of occasions for 0 and 4.

Chopra observed that it was not the first time Jaiswal had struggled against left-arm pacers and pointed out that it was the same case in the IPL, too.

"The truth is that Yashasvi Jaiswal is having problems against left-arm pace, and this problem has not started now. It's been happening regularly. This was happening in the IPL as well, which means it is not a format-specific problem. It is not a Mitchell Starc problem," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

Meanwhile, Chopra also praised Starc for getting back to his best and regaining the rhythm a the right moment and exploiting the weakness of the likes of Jaiswal.

"His numbers against left-arm pace are not that good and that is getting exploited because, for some strange reason, Mitchell Starc is back to his best. We felt there was a slight slide in his career but he has again started to bowl with the same rhythm," he observed.

'Shubman hasn't scored more than 40 runs outside Asia in the last three years'

Chopra also criticised Shubman Gill's below-par record in Tests and stated that the 25-year-old last scored a half-century outside Asia way back in 2021 in a match against Australia at the Gabba.

"Shubman Gill - it's been 16 or 17 innings where he hasn't scored more than 40 runs outside Asia in the last three years. The last time he did that was in Brisbane when India won the series. It's been a while. The expectations are the same from you. He was looking good, but looking good is not good enough in this batting order at this point in time," he said.

The former India opener suggested that Shubman has to step up to the occasion, as other players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Rishabh Pant have failed to put up big scores.

"If Yashasvi is struggling against left-arm pace, you are struggling, (Virat) Kohli struggles if he comes early, runs haven't come from Rohit Sharma's bat, and (Rishabh) Pant hasn't scored runs yet, then Shubman Gill - you will also have to give yourself a little time," Chopra observed.