‘It’s ridiculous’: Former India coach questions Yashasvi Jaiswal on ODIs

Gautam Gambhir and Yashasvi Jaiswal (AFP Photo) Former India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate questioned India’s decision to keep Yashasvi Jaiswal out of the ODI squad. He feels it is difficult to understand why a batsman with so much talent and desire to score is not given a regular place in the team.In six ODIs, the left-hander has scored 285 runs, including two centuries, at an average of 71.25. However, despite these numbers, he was unable to secure a regular place in India’s white-ball teams.With the 2027 ODI World Cup looming, Jaiswal’s chances of becoming a regular in the first-choice squad remain uncertain.On the TalkSport cricket podcast, ten Doeschate spoke about Jaiswal’s hunger to score and his disappointment when he missed out on a big score.“He’s so hungry to do well. You know, even if he runs out and doesn’t make the big one, the real disappointment of going out wears off, you can see he’s really hurting. He’s also, he’s just touching on the ODI point, he’s desperate to play ODI cricket as well. He’s not making the team, which is – it’s crazy,” Doeschate said.

‘It’s ridiculous’: Ten Doeschate on Jaiswal ODI omission

The former India assistant coach went a step further and termed Jaiswal’s absence from the ODI squad as ridiculous. He also spoke about the young batsman’s hard work and dedication.“It’s funny. There are some players that we talked about yesterday that aren’t on the team. But also just to be clear, I wasn’t the hitting coach, you know, so I didn’t have direct access to the players in terms of working closely with them. It was just me stepping in here and there and maybe supplementing what the hitting coach and the head coach were saying, it’s actually a very strange, very tough situation.” he’s not a great netminder,” he added.

Jaiswal’s fearless approach against Starc

Ten Doeschate also recalled Jaiswal’s performance during India’s Test tour of Australia in 2024. He recalled how the youngster took on Mitchell Starc’s pace and bounce in the first Test in Perth despite struggling to deal with the short balls during practice sessions.“I’ll never forget, that happened in Australia, all that piled up in Perth. And in the first three overs of the first Test match, Starc bowled a 150k bouncer and just pulled him in front of square. He just didn’t look like he could play the short ball in the nets,” he said.

Jaiswal in good form ahead of New Zealand Test

Meanwhile, Jaiswal was among the runs in the unofficial Test series against New Zealand A. The three-match series ended in a 0-0 draw after the fourth day’s play was abandoned in the third match.Jaiswal scored 17 and 5 in the first unofficial Test. He had a tough start in the second match, getting out for a duck in the first innings. However, he rebounded to an unbeaten 155 in the second innings.The left-hander continued his good form in the third unofficial Test, scoring another century with 102 runs.Devdutt Padikkal, Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Sai Sudharsan and Washington Sundar also got valuable time in the middle of the series. The top three batsmen scored four centuries between them.The focus now shifts to the two-Test series between India and New Zealand. Both teams will be looking to secure a place in next year’s World Test Championship finals.The first Test will begin on November 19 at the Basin Reserve in Wellington.