Ind v WI: The Yashasvi Jaiswal conundrum

 

Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai

The India vs West ODI series, starting on Sunday, is not the lead sports story at the moment. It has slipped under the radar a bit, with the Asian Games accounting for column inches. But make no mistake, tomorrow there will be a full house at Thiruvananthapuram, thanks mainly to Ro-Ko.

The selection committee under Ajit Agarkar decided to de-hyphenate Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The outgoing chief selector wanted to move on from the veteran opener with an eye on the 2027 World Cup. The turn of events has led to Agarkar’s departure instead, with Rohit going into the series armed with the backing from the cricket board.

“He (Rohit) is playing superbly in all the matches,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told reporters after the review meeting earlier this month. “So what more (do) you want? In the last match, he scored 138 runs. So why is there a speculation? I do not want to give some fodder for the speculators.”

Rohit is also going into the home series, carrying the confidence of scoring a hundred in his last international game. The former captain looked to be in a relaxed mood during India’s training sessions in the lead-up to the first ODI, smiling and enjoying his time out there in the middle. Also, the vote of confidence came from an unexpected quarter, head coach Gautam Gambhir hailing the impact of Ro-Ko in Shubman Gill’s growth as a captain. “In one-day cricket, when you talk about it, he (Gill) is very fortunate that he’s got the likes of Rohit and Virat to help him on the field and off the field as well,” Gambhir recently said in an interview with JioStar.

So far so good. But where does it leave Yashasvi Jaiswal? The youngster has every right to feel hard done by. Jaiswal, too, scored a century in his last ODI innings. In fact, he has scored two in his last three outings in the 50-over format.

The 24-year-old was dropped for the England tour in July on the heels of his 110 not out against Afghanistan. According to sources, however, Agarkar & Co took the decision that starting from the home series against the West Indies, Jaiswal would be the team’s first-choice opener in the ODIs, alongside Gill. Things panned out differently, and although Jaiswal is in the squad for the series against the Caribbeans, once again it could be difficult to fit him in the playing XI.

Can India afford to go on like this — Jaiswal continuing to warm the bench and not getting game time? Yes, Rohit is there, but a year is a long time in sport and by the time the ICC event starts in October 2027, he will be 40-plus. So, there’s a fitness aspect to it as well. The team won’t like to take their reserve opener to the World Cup undercooked.

“Look, for me, the main focus I reckon would be — we can talk and you can look at different options, how you want to go about playing XI,” Morne Morkel, India’s bowling coach, said at the press conference on Friday. “But for me, the end of the day is that whoever walks onto the field now, up until the World Cup, starting on Sunday, needs to know that there’s a certain standard we want to achieve. I want these players to put themselves under pressure.”

Presumably, this is applicable to Jaiswal as well and in that case, he deserves opportunities to bed in. At the same time, Rohit has every right to continue by dint of his form. His average in the ODIs since last October is north of 51 and he has scored two centuries during this period. Should the team management tweak the batting order to incorporate Jaiswal against the West Indies — the southpaw coming in at No. 3 and Kohli moving to No. 4? Then again, this could upset a settled top order. There’s a conundrum, which the team management needs to address.

Meanwhile, Gill took a blow on the right elbow while facing a Mohammed Siraj delivery at the nets yesterday. He sat out the rest of the session.

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