Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has emerged as one of India's most exciting Test openers, is in dire need of a turnaround as the left-hander continues to struggle at the top of the order. Jaiswal has failed to score a run in his past three Test innings, including a duck against Afghanistan and a 32 and a century against Sri Lanka.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was looking to accelerate the innings, fell for a three-ball duck on Day 4 of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on August 18, 2026. The left-hander edged the first delivery he faced straight to the wicketkeeper, falling for a duck as Sri Lanka made a flying start in the Galle Test.

Yashasvi Jaiswal's aggressive approach may have finally caught up with him

1. High-Risk Aggression Against the New Ball

Yashasvi Jaiswal's propensity to play aggressively has defined his game in Test cricket.

But that same aggression is the reason why he is not able to perform against good bowling attacks in certain conditions.

While chasing the second innings target in Galle, Yashasvi Jaiswal tried to accelerate from the word go despite the pitch offering extra turn and bounce. The result, yet again, was a low-scoring dismissal. The problem was that he did not give himself the luxury to read the conditions and immediately tried to play positively and paid the price.

He made a similar mistake when facing South Africa in Kolkata on November 16, 2025, where in the first innings he tried to cut the balls that pitched slightly short and wide and eventually nicked one behind.

Former India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara pointed out a technical flaw in the shot while Aakash Chopra stated that Jaiswal seems hell-bent on playing the cut whenever there is even the slightest amount of width on offer.

The problem, however, is not the cut shot. That is what Yashasvi Jaiswal is good at. He will make bowlers pay for leaving his leg or body. But the problem is timing. He has the natural ability to be a positive opener in Test cricket. But playing very aggressively from the word go without reading the conditions can sometimes backfire in the longest format.

2. Footwork Against Left-arm Seam

Another area that has been exploited against Yashasvi Jaiswal in recent times is his footwork, particularly against the left-arm seam.

Aakash Chopra recently spoke about how Jaiswal is extremely poor against the left-arm seam and the problem has been consistent across all formats. It was particularly highlighted during the Kolkata Test against South Africa.

In Kolkata, Jaiswal inside-edged Marco Jansen into his own body in the first innings to be dismissed.

In the second innings, he edged behind the same bowler, Jansen, after facing only four balls.

The left-arm seam can be particularly troublesome for right-handers as the angle is very different from a right-arm bowler. It can be a mix of inswinging and outswinging deliveries depending upon the bounce and slope. Therefore, the right-footed opener needs to play with his feet to either get close to the left-arm seam and play across it or get out of the way. A lack of footwork will see Jaiswal miss too many deliveries or edge out the off stump.

It is also very important for a right-hander to commit his front foot to drive a left-arm spinner or seam bowler. Without committing the front foot, the batter does not get good balance for other shots and is very vulnerable to being bowled or lbw. A look at Jaiswal's recent dismissals shows that he has been very vulnerable to bouncers and short balls that come outside the off stump.

3. Getting Dismissed Early By Mistiming Shots Away From The Body

Another issue that has plagued Jaiswal in recent times is mistiming the shots on the outside off stump before he gets set at the crease.

Yashasvi Jaiswal got out in Galle, the second Test against Australia, which is the third consecutive game in Test cricket that he has nicked off early in his innings. The opener has been falling for the same trick that is being implemented by the opposition bowlers. This is evident from Jaiswal's recent innings, where the bail was up in the air before he had even got going.

The same problem was visible in the third Test match at Lord's between India and England on July 13, 2025. Jaiswal was dismissed for seven in the second innings after mistiming a drive to the boundary. He had scored only 13 runs in the first innings in a low-scoring draw.

This is one of those problems that batters of Jaiswal's caliber must address. It is very easy to fall for the lure of the drive or the pull with hard hands and nick the ball off the bat or the glove on the outside edge. It is a particular problem for openers as they must get runs on the board early in Test cricket. Yashasvi Jaiswal's game is all about getting into the right V and driving the ball into the cover region. It was a problem for him in Galle, but it also happened in Lord's. However, Test cricket always requires caution, more so when the ball is swinging.

Can Yashasvi Jaiswal Turn His Career Around?

Yashasvi Jaiswal's recent form should not overshadow what he brings to the table as a Test batter. His game is all about attacking the new ball and getting big scores in a short amount of time. Those are the qualities that make him a special batsman in the Test cricket era. But what should also be realized is that the three successive dismissals that have defined Jaiswal's recent Test innings are a sign that he is being targeted.

As seen in the recent Tests, the opposition bowlers have been targeting Jaiswal's aggressive instincts against the new ball, poor footwork against the left-arm seam and the inability to time the ball on the outside edge early in the innings.

The answer to turning Jaiswal's Test career around lies in finding a balance between being positive and cautious. It will be interesting to see if the Mumbai batsman can be more careful before accelerating against good bowling attacks. And for India, Jaiswal finding that balance will be more important than the runs.