India’s white ball blind spot: Where does Yashasvi Jaiswal fit in?

Nagpur: India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal plays a shot during the first One Day International (ODI) cricket match between India and England at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur, Maharashtra. (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak) New Delhi: The last time Yashasvi Jaiswal played an ODI for India, he scored a match winning 116 not out against South Africa. It was only his fourth match in the format and he was playing because captain Shubman Gill was unfit. When Gill returned, Jaiswal returned to the bench and is now out of the squad for the three-ODI series against Afghanistan starting on 13 June.Jaiswal’s omission from the ODI squad hardly created any noise and chief selector Ajit Agarkar subtly mentioned it when asked about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.“Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has done well but let’s not forget Yashasvi Jaiswal. While he is impressive, Jaiswal has also done well,” said Agarkar.Agarkar also mentioned Jaiswal during his media interaction before this case. But then the question arises: why was he not picked in the India A side to face Sri Lanka A under Tilak Varma? If Jaiswal had the misfortune of missing out on the senior team, he should have at least been part of the India A squad to remain ready when the opportunity arose.“He should have been picked in the India A team. It’s unfortunate. When Rohit (Sharma) and Shubman (Gill) are there, you understand he might not get game time, but he should have gone to Sri Lanka instead of sitting at home,” former India chief selector MSK Prasad told TimesofIndia.com.Prasad claimed that Jaiswal is a rare all-format cricketer and believes he will eventually make it in ODIs.“He is too good a player to miss out on any format. He shouldn’t take it as a disappointment. Such things happen in cricket. When I was chairman of selectors, we couldn’t find a place for Shreyas Iyer even though he did exceptionally well in domestic cricket. Jaiswal is already a tough boy and that will only make him tougher,” Prasad said.Jaiswal’s last ODI appearance was almost five months ago. After the Afghanistan series, India will play a three-match ODI series against England in July and with Ishan Kishan returning as the second wicket-keeper and infielder, no one knows when Jaiswal’s wait in white-ball cricket for India will end.Notably, the last of his 23 T20I appearances came about 22 months ago. After the debacle in Adelaide in the semi-final of the 2022 FIFA T20 World Cup, one of the significant changes in India’s T20 batting has been their aggressive approach in the powerplay and Jaiswal has been central to this shift. His T20I strike rate is 164.31.He transformed India’s batting philosophy in T20Is, batting at top speed from the first over rather than waiting to accelerate until the last five overs, which had long been India’s template.With Rohit Sharma targeting ODIs ahead of the 2023 World Cup and Test cricket, Jaiswal has flourished in T20Is. But for Rohit and Virat to top the order for the T20 World Cup in 2024, Jaiswal sat out the entire tournament. Then, behind Gautam Gambhir, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson moved ahead of him in the pecking order.It’s not that Jaiswal’s strike rate, intent or IPL performances have fallen in comparison to Abhishek or Samson, but he has gradually gone wild in T20Is. His last T20I appearance for India came on 30 July 2024 against Sri Lanka.TimesofIndia.com understands that the Indian team management wants to bring left-handers into the mix. This approach worked effectively in T20Is and during India’s Champions Trophy triumph last year when Axar Patel was used as a floater at No.5.

Should Yashasvi Jaiswal have been included in the India A squad for the series against Sri Lanka A?

The sample size of Jaiswal’s ODI career may still be small compared to the stalwarts, but he certainly has the impact, X-factor and range required for India’s future. He has already established himself as a Test opener with runs across conditions and continents.At the age of 24, Jaiswal should be seen as India’s present, not just its future. In the coming months, India must find a place for him in the ODI set-up and give him a long rope ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup, even if it comes at the expense of the great Rohit Sharma, who might not mind one of his “the boy with the ghost in the garden‘ carrying the baton forward aloft.