'You Didn't Miss Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma': Ex-India Star's Big Praise For Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul

Former India opener Aakash Chopra lavished praise on Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul for their powerful opening stand on Day 1 of the first Test against England in Leeds. The duo of Jaiswal and Rahul stitched a 91-run opening partnership and gave India a solid start after being put to bat first. Rahul was dismissed for 42 by Brydon Carse while Jaiswal completed a brilliant ton before getting bowled out by Ben Stokes. Later, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant also stitched an unbeaten stand as India ended the the day at 359/3 at stumps.

In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra praised Jaiswal and Rahul for their knocks and stated that their performance did not let the Indian fans miss the retired duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. 

"The headline should be the incredible opening start. KL Rahul was once again there with Yashasvi Jaiswal, and all of us were thinking that we would miss Rohit a lot," said Chopra on his YouTube channel. 

"Rohit and Kohli, it felt a little odd as we were playing the first match, after so many years, where neither of them was there, but let's be very honest, you didn't miss them when the match started," he added.

Chopra further stated that Jaiswal played a responsible knock while Rahul was at his usual self. 

"Rahul was leaving deliveries outside the off-stump. Yashasvi zimmedaar (responsible) Jaiswal, I wish to keep a name like that for him, because he was playing cautiously this time, and Rahul, of course, plays like that only, although he adopted a slightly aggressive approach," said Chopra. 

"The opening partnership decided that, unless you bottle it up completely, you will be in a good space," he added.

A scintillating century by Jaiswal was followed by a sublime hundred on the Test-captaincy debut for Gill, before Rishabh Pant's typical pyrotechnics got him a rollicking fifty, as the trio ensured India had an absolutely dominating day in the first Test to kick-start the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at Headingley on Friday.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team England Cricket Team Aakash Chopra Yashasvi Jaiswal Shubman Gill Rohit Sharma England vs India, 2025 Cricket